


Five Minutes to Midnight

by Kaylathebookworm



Category: RWBY
Genre: Child Abuse, Fluff and Angst, Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-13
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-10 21:46:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 23,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28044150
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kaylathebookworm/pseuds/Kaylathebookworm
Summary: Taiyang Xiao Long, widowed father of two, finds himself in Atlas for a huntsman conference, where he stays at the Glass Unicorn. While there, he discovers Cinder, and finds out how badly she's being abused. He takes her away from Atlas and adopts her as his own. Based on a tumblr post by tumblezwei
Relationships: Cinder Fall & Ruby Rose, Qrow Branwen & Ruby Rose & Taiyang Xiao Long & Yang Xiao Long, Ruby Rose & Yang Xiao Long
Comments: 286
Kudos: 272





	1. Chapter 1

Taiyang Xiao-Long was, to tell you the truth, still working on getting back on his feet. It had been two years since Summer had died. Ruby was six now and Yang was eight, and Tai was still trying to put all of the pieces back together. But he was almost there. It was difficult, being a single parent and teaching at Signal, but he had to take care of his kids. He had to keep moving forward, for them. He had Qrow to watch over them while he was at work, since he wasn’t on a mission at the moment, and Zwei too, who was far too intelligent for a dog. Things were working out. Everything was okay, even though, sometimes, the weight of the world got the better of him. It got the better of all of them, sometimes, but one day it wouldn’t, and they just had to get there.

Tai sighed as he collapsed at the kitchen table and reached for his pile of mail. He was exhausted from work, and he had to make sure that the kids were fed, and grade papers, and probably a ton of other things that he wasn’t even thinking about at the moment. On the bright side, he could probably convince Qrow to take care of some of the tasks that needed doing, so that he could just focus on the papers.

Bills, bills, more bills. The mail was always the same. It sucked. But this time, there was one other envelope, in a fancy, thick paper, with a weird gold emblem. He opened it with considerable confusion. He couldn’t imagine why he would be getting something like this. Tai dumped the contents of the envelope on the table and was surprised to see it was an invitation.

_ You’ve been invited! _ It said, _ To an international Conference of Huntsmen and Huntresses in Atlas, at the Request of General James Ironwood, from June 20th to June 27th. Accommodations will be had at the Glass Unicorn, at 1221 Olympia Drive. Please RSVP! _

Tai knew that Atlas had fancy events like this all the time, and he had been invited to them before, but he had never actually gone. Not recently, at least. He knew that he was likely being invited by James because he was a member of team STRQ, and they were all sort of in Ozpin’s inner circle. Because he knew about Salem. 

He had never had a reason to go before. But with Summer gone, with trying to take care of the kids, with his job, with trying to keep everything from falling apart, a week in Atlas was starting to sound  _ really _ nice. He hadn’t been to Atlas in a long while, and it might be good for him to get a change of pace. Of course, he would have to find a babysitter for the kids. He couldn’t just tell Qrow that he was leaving for a week for a conference and just dump the girls on him. That wouldn’t be fair. Also, Qrow was probably invited to this thing, too. 

“Hey, Qrow!” he called. He heard the sound of whatever video game he had been playing with Yang and Ruby stop, likely paused, and the yells of protests from his kids. Tai huffed a laugh. He hoped his girls would never have to grow up.

“Yeah? What’s up?” came Qrow’s gruff voice.

Tai held up the invitation. “Did you get one of these?”

“Ha. Yeah, and I threw it in the trash. Why? You’re not seriously considering  _ going _ to that nonsense, are you?”

Qrow spluttered at the noncommittal expression on Tai’s face, “You are! Why?”

Tai sighed. “I just- I don’t know. I’m so tired. I think it would be nice to get a bit of a break. At least you get to go on missions sometimes. I have to take care of my kids, and work, all the time, and it’s just been so hard without… without her here. I can’t remember the last time I had a day off that wasn’t just because I couldn’t get out of bed that day. I need a change of scenery, and a week in Atlas is sounding really good right now.”

“You’re right,” said Qrow. “You’re a total mess, and you do need a break. I should be able to watch over the kiddos, if I’ve got a pressing mission I’m sure we can pawn them off on one of our trusted colleagues.”

“Thanks, Qrow. Also, hey! I am not a mess!” protested Tai.

“You definitely are. That’s why you should go to Atlas,” Qrow smirked at him.

“Oh that’s it. I am  _ totally _ about to beat you at whatever video game you’re playing with the kids.”

“As if! You can’t hold a candle to me in Super Ninja Battle 2. I’m the  _ best _ .” Qrow boasted.

“I am going to wipe that smirk off of your face, mister!” Tai challenged as he followed Qrow back into the living room, where Ruby and Yang had gotten distracted and were playing tic tac toe on a piece of paper.

Tai lost, badly, but he found that his heart felt a lot lighter than it had in a long time.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: child abuse (graphic descriptions)

Despite the fact that he had planned for this trip, Tai was still worried about leaving his kids for a  _ whole week _ . The longest amount of time he had ever been away from them since Summer had…  _ gone away _ , was only for the length of a school day for work. He had not left them overnight, and certainly not for a week. 

“Seriously, dude. You’ve got an airship to catch. We’ll be  _ fine _ . I promise you that the house will not burn down while you’re not here,” said Qrow.

“But-but what if-”

“No buts. Let go of the children. C’mon,” Qrow instructed, trying to pry Tai’s arms off from where they were wrapped tightly around Ruby and Yang.

“I wanna go with Dad!” Ruby shouted, clinging onto Tai’s shirt.

Qrow sighed. “No you don’t, pipsqueak. Atlas sucks. It’s cold, and boring, and your dad is just going to be going to some really boring meetings the whole time. Why would you want to do  _ that  _ when you can stay here and play video games all day and have as much ice cream as you want?”

Ruby’s eyes lit up, and she finally let go. “Really? Can I have ice cream for breakfast?”

“Sure, kiddo,” Qrow winked at her.

“No,” said Tai, standing up, “you are not going to be eating ice cream for breakfast. That’s not good for you! Qrow, please be a responsible adult and do not feed my children ice cream for breakfast.”

“Alright, alright,” he responded, holding up his hands in surrender. The girls groaned in protest, and he winked at them when Tai wasn’t looking. “Now go,” he told Tai, gently shoving him out the door. “If you miss your ship you’re gonna miss out on the first vacation that you’ve had in actual years. Shoo. I know how to take care of the kids.”

“Wait-” Tai started to protest, “are you sure-.”

Qrow gave him a pointed look and shut the door in his face.

Taif huffed and turned to grab his luggage, putting it in the trunk of his car before getting into the driver’s seat. He cringed as he checked the time. He still had to get to the docks, take a ferry to the mainland, and then catch an airship. He probably should have left ten minutes ago. Whoops. It would be fine. For once, he didn’t have his daughters in the car, so he could afford to speed a little. He grinned to himself. He had missed being a little reckless and irresponsible.

He made it to the docks in record time, and he was secretly pretty proud of himself for that. The ferries ran every half an hour, and he managed to catch one of the earlier ones, which meant he would have plenty of time to make it to the airship to Atlas. 

Tai let out a sigh of relief. He had forgotten how stressful it was to stray from routine, to experience something new. Part of him was regretting this already. He was going to miss a whole week of family bonding, and baking cookies, and domestic shenanigans. But on the other hand, this was kind of exciting. He hadn’t seen much of Atlas, or any of the other kingdoms, really, and this would be a really great opportunity. Tai set his shoulders with determination. He was doing this. He was getting on that airship and going to Atlas. It was strange, how he was so comfortable fighting grimm, trying to keep the world safe, but traveling between kingdoms made him anxious. He really needed to get a hold of himself.

Eventually, the airship was ready to board, and Tai steeled himself for the monotony of a very long flight. He was about to have nothing to do for seven hours. Awesome.

When he got on the ship, he busied himself with people-watching. Most of the people on the flight appeared to be huntsmen, huntresses, or hunters of some kind or another, which wasn’t surprising. They were probably all headed to the same conference. 

“Hey there,” said a woman as she gracefully reclined in the seat next to him. “I haven’t seen you around before. Are you new to the field?”

Tai laughed at that. “Oh goodness, no. I’ve just been busy the past few years taking care of my kids.”

“Wow,” she said, looking a little taken aback. “You have kids? As a huntsman? How on Remnant do you have time for that?”

“Well, it was a lot easier before my wife passed. But now, I work as a teacher at Signal Academy, and I have some help from friends. But I don’t go on long, extended missions like I used to anymore. I’m only going to this conference because I had someone in my life insisting that I needed a break.” 

She hummed, “Well, if you want to have some fun while you’re on your little vacation here, I’ll be in room 302.” With that, she got up and walked to the other side of the ship, presumably to bother some other hunters.

That was certainly… interesting. The last person to flirt with him had been Summer, or maybe Qrow- it was hard to tell sometimes- and it felt strange to be openly propositioned like that. It was certainly weird being back in the world of adult hunters after being surrounded mostly by his own kids and the children that he taught at Signal. He still had friends, sure, but they were mostly other teachers and old colleagues from his younger days. Whatever this was was definitely out of his comfort zone, and he was already missing his family.

Tai shook his head and pulled out the book that he had been meaning to read for months now, but had never had the time. Ideally, it would occupy most of the trip. It was a really interesting story about a huntsman who saved a girl who had been locked in a tower by her father. In the book, magic was real, and the two fell in love in their escape. The story ended in a happily ever after, the way that stories tended to and real life didn’t. The book was completely gripping, and Tai found himself closing the book and realizing that several hours had passed. 

He still had two hours before they made it to Atlas. Great. He had no idea what to do with himself now. He hadn’t had free time in ages.

Tai wasted thirty minutes staring outside at the dark sky, and discovered that he was officially bored out of his mind. If he was back in Patch, he would be using this free time to train and keep his skills sharp, but he couldn’t exactly do that on an airship. He couldn’t call his kids, either, because of interference or something. Terrible. What was he supposed to do now? Sleep?

He spent the remainder of the flight sleeping.

Tai woke with a jolt to an announcement that they were arriving in Atlas. Everyone was in the process of rushing to the windows, and ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ filled the air as everyone caught sight of Atlas. When Tai saw the city, he, too, was overcome with a sense of awe. He hadn’t been to Atlas in ages, and he forgot how beautiful it could be.

The airship pulled to the station, and a parade of hunters departed. There were some fancy cars that pulled up and were transporting people to their ultimate destinations. Tai hopped in one with a couple other huntsmen, and the driver began taking them to the Glass Unicorn.

He looked around at all of the buildings as they drove. The architecture here was so different than it was in Vale. Everything was so fancy. The whole of Atlas looked like it was designed by and for rich people. Tai felt rather out of place. He belonged in his little suburban house on Patch, not in this city that was all high and mighty- both figuratively and literally.

But, he was on  _ vacation _ , sort of, so he would try to relax and enjoy his time away from the monotony and exhaustion of his daily life. Besides, he had these conferences to attend. This was his time to experience high society. It was an opportunity of a lifetime, or something like that.

When they pulled up to the Glass Unicorn, Tai decided that high society was not, in fact, for him. It was disturbingly fancy. He felt underdressed just looking at it. There was a valet, and it looked like some of the guests had butlers. If he wasn’t on another continent, Tai would have seriously considered turning around and going home.

Walking inside, someone held the door open, and asked if they could take his bag.

“Aha… no thank you,” Tai responded, feeling uncomfortable and out of place, like a flower that had been transplanted in the middle of a busy city street. 

The hotel was huge, and there was an elaborate red carpet down the center of the entryway. Everything was gold and deep red, and the environment was warm and welcoming, a significant difference from the cold atmosphere of Atlas. The tables in the main entry were filled with hunters, most of whom had drinks in their hands. It was… a really nice place. Tai was starting to feel that this might not be so bad when his eyes landed on a sign that said  _ We don’t serve faunus _ . 

Looking at that sign made his heart skip a beat. He  _ knew _ , intellectually, that faunus discrimination was a thing, but he had never really seen it so  _ openly _ . It was disgusting. Why was Ironwood putting them all up here? He was going to have a very long conversation with the man.

Tai was about to turn around, find some other place to stay, when a woman with dark blond hair, heels too high to be remotely practical, a deep red skirt and a plastic smile so fake it made his skin crawl approached him.

“Hello there, and welcome to the Glass Unicorn. You may call me Madame, and I run this very fine establishment. I can get you checked in. Could I have your name, sweetheart?”

“Aha, you know, I’m not sure that I should stay here. I really am not liking your openly discriminatory practices towards faunus,” Tai responded.

Her smile dropped a fraction of an inch, and her voice took on a horribly saccharine tone, “Well, dearie, there is an incredibly important huntsman conference going on this week. There won’t be availability at any hotel in all of Atlas! Besides, you may have some difficulty finding any place of good standing that serves those riffraff in this city. If you don’t want to stay here, I’m sure you’ll have a great week sleeping on the street.”

He grimaced at her words. He didn’t like what she had to say, but there was no way he would be able to find anywhere to stay during an important conference this last minute. It was either this awful place or nothing. He might be able to find somewhere else to stay for the rest of the week, but it was late already, and it was looking like his options for tonight were pretty limited. At least he wouldn’t be paying for this.

“That’s what I thought,” she said at the expression on his face. “Name?”

Tai grit his teeth, “Taiyang Xiao-Long.”

“Oh, I see you’re one of the General’s personal guests! Don’t worry, we’ll get you the best service,” she choked out, looking like she had swallowed a mouse. “My girls will show you to your room.”

On the bright side, she looked in pain having to treat him with respect, but on the downside, he had to spend the night here. Two girls, both of which looked like mini versions of their mother walked into the entryway from a side room, plastic smiles stuck to their respective faces. 

“Girls,” she chirped, composure restored, “please show Mr. Xiao-Long to room 422. He is one of the General's personal guests, and will be receiving only the best service from us.”

He was certain that he could have found his way to his room on his own, but the two girls insisted on showing him to his room. It was incredibly annoying. He would have much rather had Ironwood  _ not _ mention that they were personally acquainted. 

They led him to his door and handed him his key card. “We’ll have the  _ serving girl _ bring you something, sir,” the girl with curly hair said, a weird amount of glee in her voice.

“You really don’t have to. I’m perfectly alright. I don’t need any extra service,” Tai told them.

“Oh nonsense,” said the other girl, waving away his protests, “our servers are happy to have extra work to do. They live to serve, after all.”

“Thanks…” he said, feeling like something was very  _ off _ here. “Have a goodnight, ladies.”

The two girls left, a distinct sense of foreboding in their wake. As they turned a corner, he could hear them start laughing. Something was definitely wrong here.

Tai tried to shake whatever was happening off and shut the door to his room, which was horribly big and fancy. Most of his house could fit in this room. Apparently, knowing people came with a lot of perks he neither asked for nor wanted. He sat on the edge of his bed and pulled out his scroll and computer. It was time to find ethical places to stay for the rest of the week.

It turns out that Atlas really sucked, all around, and he should have checked the website for this very nice hellhole before agreeing to stay here. He checked more Atlas hotel websites than he could count.  _ We don’t serve faunus. No faunus allowed. Humans only.  _ It was, quite frankly, disturbing. He was looking forward to getting out of this place, and going back home to his life.

He finally found a hotel that didn’t appear to openly discriminate against faunus on their website. He pulled out his scroll and called. “Hi,” he said when the receptionist picked up, “do you have any availability for this week?”

“I’m sorry sir, but we don’t have any availability for the rest of the month. Would you like something then?”

Tai sighed. “No thanks, sorry to bother you.” 

He hung up. He had been researching for nearly an hour, and nothing else looked remotely promising. What a  _ fantastic _ city this was.

Tai jumped at a knock on his door.  _ Right _ . Those girls said they would send someone.

“Room service,” came a soft voice.

He opened the door to see a small girl with her head bowed. She looked young. Way too young to have a job. Her hands shook slightly as she held out a tray for him.

“Thank you,” he said.

She looked up, eyes wide, as if she wasn’t used to people thanking her. As if she wasn’t used to anyone  _ seeing her _ .

“Can-can I get you anything else?” she breathed, her voice shaking slightly.

“No, I’m fine,” he said, taking the tray from her. “You look exhausted, do you have a name?”

“It’s Ci-cinder, sir. I have work to do,” she put her head down again, shoulders hunched, and dashed away.

Tai was getting concerned. That was worrying. That girl, Cinder, she looked  _ young _ . She looked exhausted, and overworked, and like life had beaten her down. She was a  _ child _ . She shouldn’t be working here. She shouldn’t be working  _ anywhere _ . He knew that these people were awful, but he wasn’t expecting child labor. Was that even  _ legal _ ? How was a child working so openly at such a high-end place? Why hadn’t anyone done anything?

He closed his door, and put his head in his hands. That little girl certainly needed this meal that she had brought more than he did. This was a nightmare. Cinder reminded him so much of his own daughters. If things had been different, if he had ended up like Summer, would his girls be in a place like this? He couldn’t bear to imagine Ruby or Yang in Cinder’s place. How in the world could anyone make a child work like this? She was far too young to look so exhausted and broken. This wasn’t right. None of this was  _ right _ .

Tai was pretty sure he was going to lose his mind. He had only been in Atlas for a couple of hours at this point, this hotel was absolutely horrible, and he couldn’t find anywhere more ethical to stay. How could anyone stand this place? He was going to be having some serious  _ words _ with James Ironwood. Maybe use his fists. 

Tai was not one for drinking alcohol, not after he had watched Qrow become gripped by it, which certainly wasn’t pleasant to watch, but Tai needed a drink. He was pretty sure that there was a bar downstairs. He really didn’t want to stay in this giant room any longer than he had to, not when he knew that it was probably being cleaned by children. Reluctantly, not wanting to interact with Madame or her spawn any more than he had to, Tai grabbed his room key and went downstairs. Every second he spent in this place, the more his contempt for it grew. 

The tables in the entryway were more sparsely populated than they were earlier. He sat down at an empty one, and a waitress came over to him. Thankfully, she was an adult.

“What can I get for you sir?” she asked.

Tai sighed. “I’ll have a shot of vodka with orange juice, please.”

“Absolutely. Anything else?”

“No thanks,” he said.

The waitress walked away, and he drummed his fingers on the table. Yup, this was terrible. He cocked his head at the distant sound of glass breaking. It was difficult to hear over the chatter of the other patrons, but he thought something was wrong. No one else appeared phased by the noise, glass breaks all the time, but Tai had to investigate. He followed the noise toward what was likely the kitchens. 

He peeked in the kitchens, and saw nothing that looked out of the ordinary. Chefs were making food, or otherwise standing around. Tai kept walking, and the noises got louder. There was more shattering glass and…  _ laughing _ ? Those two noises generally didn’t go together. This was definitely not right. 

There was another room, off of the kitchens. It was full of dishes, both clean and dirty, and sinks. And worse, the two girls were there, the Madame’s daughters, each with plates in their hands. Cinder was on the floor, on her knees, looking up at them, with tears in her eyes. None of them noticed Tai from the doorway in which he stood.

“Please,” Cinder croaked, “please stop.”

At this, the girls laughed, and they took the plates in their hands, and  _ threw _ them at Cinder. Cinder jumped back, crying out in pain as the dishes hit her, and watched with dismay as they shattered on the floor. 

Enough was enough. Tai stepped into the room. “What are you  _ doing _ ?” he asked, stepping in front of Cinder, and he couldn’t remember the last time there was this much anger in his voice.

The two monstrous girls had the nerve to  _ laugh _ at this. “We’re having fun!” one of them said.

“She’s just a  _ servant _ ,” giggled the other girl.

“She’s a person!” he yelled back, “you can’t treat people like this!”

“Sure we can,” the first girl smirked. “Now go back to whatever you were doing, or security will escort you out.”

Tai wanted nothing less than to leave Cinder alone, but he wouldn’t be able to help her if he was kicked out of the hotel. Glaring at the two blonde nightmares, he left the room and went back to the entryway, making sure to move so that he was sitting as close as possible to the kitchens. He needed to keep an eye on this situation, because clearly no one else was. 

He sipped at his drink, and scrunched up his nose. Vodka was disgusting, these people were disgusting, this  _ place _ was disgusting. He huffed angrily at the situation, and pondered the best way to help Cinder.

Tai looked up at a pair of footsteps. A huntsman with long hair streaked with gray, dark skin, and a scar on his face was approaching him.

The man sat down. “It’s awful what they’re doing to that girl,” he muttered, shaking his head slowly. He held out a hand for Tai to shake, “I’m Rhodes.”

“Tai,” Tai said, watching the man skeptically. So this man knew what they were doing to Cinder, but what was he doing about it?

It seemed like Rhodes could read his mind. “I’ve been teaching her how to fight,” he said. “In a few more years, she’s going to go to Atlas Academy, and she’s going to be a huntress.”

“How long have you been training her?” Tai asked.

“Three years,” Rhodes replied.

Tai choked on his drink. Three years? How old was this girl when she started working here? How long had she been treated like this? Was Rhodes doing anything else to help her? Why was he just sitting by while these people hurt Cinder? She was a child! She was being kicked around and worked to the bone, and she had been here for at least  _ three years _ . That was so long! Rhodes knew about this and kept coming back to the hotel? He didn’t say anything? He didn’t do anything to get her out of the situation? Sure, a faraway dream was  _ great _ , it was good that he was training her, but how was she supposed to last long enough to make it there? This poor girl’s only option was to put up with years of horrific abuse. Why had this man just sat by and watched this happen for  _ three years _ ? What kind of a huntsman  _ was _ he? Was everyone in this place a monster?

Tai was  _ not _ going to leave Atlas without getting Cinder out of this place.

Instead of mentioning all of this, he just nodded at Rhodes. Clearly, this man had a problem with rocking the boat, causing a change at the cost of the facade of peace that they had here. This seemed like a theme in Atlas. This city ran on an undercurrent of oppression and injustice, and as long as no one protested it, as long as no one did anything to help the people who were the ones paying the price this city demanded, everything ran smoothly. The faunus worked in terrible conditions down in the mines in Mantle, they were considered second-class citizens pretty much everywhere, and, apparently, child labor was commonplace. Was Cinder even being paid? Was she getting enough to eat? She looked thin. She looked tired. She looked miserable. And yet no one had bothered to take her away from this.

What could Cinder even do with those fighting skills? Fight her way out of this? Hurt the people who were hurting her? What would happen to her then? Would anyone help her? Would there be sympathy for this girl, if she used what tools she had to get out of a bad situation? Or would she be punished for fighting back?

Tai tried to imagine what would happen if Cinder threw dishes  _ back _ at those girls. He doubted things would get better for her. He suspected she would be punished, badly. If these people threw plates at her for fun, what did they do when she messed up? Madame didn’t seem to be fond of mistakes, of errors, of problems.

He really wanted to throw his drink in someone’s eyes. Preferably Madame and her daughters. For lack of a better term, this sucked. He sat there with Rhodes for a while, silently despising the man for his inaction. Eventually, Rhodes got up and left the table. Tai sighed and checked his scroll, it was nearing midnight. He figured he should sleep, but he had slept towards the end of the flight, and he wasn’t tired. He was also too angry to sleep. The rational thing would have been to at least go back to his room, but he decided he would rather snoop around instead. Madame was still awake; it seemed that she was working a late shift, perhaps in preparation for the influx of hunters that would be there for the week.

Tai was going to keep an eye on her.

Around 12:45, the woman and her daughters welcomed another influx of guests, which was interesting enough to watch. She kept going on about how nice their hotel was, how General Ironwood himself was supporting their business, how they were the absolute  _ best _ Atlas had to offer. 

Twenty or so minutes later, once all of the new guests had retired to their rooms, Madame instructed her daughters to ‘fetch the girl’ to clean up after them.

Tai grimaced at that. Cinder looked exhausted when he saw her earlier, and she needed all of the sleep she could get. It was cruel of them to wake her up to do work.

When Cinder was led out, she looked shaky on her feet. Regardless, Madame simply scowled and pointed at the rug, which was now coated with dirt from all of the new guests. Cinder nodded meekly and walked away, coming back a few minutes later with a brush and a bucket of soapy water. She got to work while Madame and the girls walked away, presumably to relax while Cinder scrubbed the floor.

Tai couldn’t just  _ watch _ a child scrub the floor while he sat there and did nothing. Was it weird that he felt compelled to help despite the fact that he was a guest? Probably. But he had done plenty of housework in his life, and wasn’t used to having everything done for him. He certainly wasn’t going to let this burden fall on a child, not if he could help it.

Cinder was gasping quietly as he approached her, in the way that one does when they’re trying not to cry.

“Are you alright?” he asked, kneeling next to her.

She blinked at him and tried for a smile, which faltered. “Yes, sir. I’m just tired, is all.”

“Would you like some help?” 

Cinder scrunched her face in confusion at the question. “I- what? You want to help me clean the floor? I really don’t think that’s allowed. This is my job.”

“What are they paying you?” he asked.

“Paying? What do you mean?” she asked him, confusion etched in her features.

“Well, it’s illegal to work if you aren’t being paid. Are they not paying you anything?”

“The Madame is my guardian. She gives me food and shelter. And I work,” she said somewhat robotically.

“ _ Oh _ . That’s-. How old are you?” Tai could feel his heart sinking. This girl was enslaved.

“I’m thirteen, I’m pretty sure. I’ve been here a long time.” she sounded resigned.

Tai swallowed and stood.

“Thank you,” she said, “for talking to me.”

“No problem,” he said.

Tai walked back over to one of the tables, and flagged down a waitress. “Excuse me,” he said, “could I get a water, and a plate of food, please?”

“Sure. How does the cheese platter sound?”

“That would be great,” he sighed. Cinder looked like she didn’t eat enough. He had to  _ help _ this kid. 

The food took a few minutes to come out, but Cinder was still scrubbing at the floor. She was starting to falter, Tai noticed. Her movements were jerky, and she was clearly running on empty.

“Here,” he said, bringing over the food and water to her.

She fell back on her hands in disbelief. “This… this is for me?” she asked.

“Yeah. You look like you need it, kid.”

“R-really?” she looked stunned, like no one had ever offered her food before.

He was starting to think that they hadn’t.

Cinder glanced around furtively, like she was doing something illegal, and grabbed a handful of food. She shoved a cracker and several pieces of cheese in her mouth, like she hadn’t eaten all day. At the rate she was eating, Tai was worried she would make herself sick. She gulped down the water like a man dying of thirst, looking around in a panic the whole time.

“How about you just take the rest of this to your room, okay?” he suggested, when it looked like she was going to try to inhale the whole thing all at once.

She nodded, looking like she was about to cry. “Thank you. What-what’s your name?”

“My name is Tai. And it’s no trouble. You remind me a lot of my daughters. I would never let them go hungry, so I won’t let you, either.”

He left the remainder of the food for her on a nearby table, and let her finish scrubbing. He desperately wanted to take over for her, but he had a feeling that if it was discovered that she had let him, she would be severely punished. He didn’t want to cause her  _ more _ pain, but at least he had been able to get her something to eat.

Once the floor had been sufficiently scrubbed, Cinder stood and stretched, taking her bucket of dirty water outside to dump it. Tai watched her walk back inside, exhausted, and collapse into a chair. She bolted upright in a panic at the click of heels on the floor, scrambling to her feet and beginning to take her supplies back to wherever she had gotten them from.

She looked wide-eyed in barely-concealed panic when Madame walked over to the front desk and crossed her arms, raising an eyebrow at Cinder. Tai watched as Madame followed Cinder as she walked down a hall, heels clicking in a foreboding rhythm. 

Tai stood up slowly, attempting to appear nonchalant. He walked in the same direction that Cinder and Madame had gone in, trying to look casual, not to make it look like he was following them. But he had to follow. He had to make sure that Cinder was going to be okay. Of course, it could have just been an employer having a conversation with an employee, but now that Tai knew that Cinder was a slave, he wasn’t so sure that this would be a harmless interaction.

He followed down a few hallways, through some twists and turns, making sure to stay out of sight. He could easily follow the sound of heels, so it wasn’t difficult to do so. He heard the heels click on a harder surface, and then come to a stop. He traced the sound to the doorway of a stone room, where he hid, out of sight of Madame. The room was sparsely lit, with a blanket and a couple of pillows were laid on the floor, with little else. A cold fireplace was in the corner, with a wooden table nearby. 

Tai gasped in horror at the sound of screams. Cinder was shuddering, collapsed on the floor, her hands reaching for the collar around her neck. And she was screaming. Madame stood over her, a small device clutched in her hand.

“This,” Madame said to her, her voice cold, “is what happens when you ask for help. Don’t you  _ dare _ try to get people to feel sorry for you. No one will help you. Ever. Besides, do you know what will happen if we get investigated by the police? They’ll throw you out on the streets. Do you know what happens to little girls on the streets? It’s not pretty. You’ll be stolen, and used up, and kept in a cage, and killed painfully and slowly. It will be brutal, and you’ll be begging for us to take you back.”

She smirked and pressed another button on the device, and Cinder’s screams got louder. She was sobbing, and pleading for it to stop. Tai couldn’t stand to watch.

Before he knew what he was doing, Tai ran through the door and tackled Madame. She went down hard, and the device flew from her hand.

She growled and opened her mouth, presumably to scream. Tai punched her in the face, again and again. He was  _ not _ going to let her hurt this child. Ever. Again.

He narrowed his eyes and rolled, so that he was on his back, and he had the monster of a woman on top of him, face up. He put an arm around her neck and squeezed, just until she was unconscious. He didn’t need to kill her, not right now, he just needed her to not be able to stop them from escaping.

Tai turned to Cinder, who had backed away in shock.

“Wha- what’s. What did you do?” she stuttered, confused.

“I’m getting you out of here. They won’t be able to hurt you anymore.” he whispered, approaching her slowly, and sinking to his knees next to her. “May I?” he asked, gesturing to the necklace.

She nodded, uncertain. Tai grabbed the necklace and ripped it off of the poor girl’s neck. “You’re going to be free. C’mon,” he said, offering his hand.

He tried to think of the best way out. If he took Cinder and went out the front door, people would notice. A lot of people would notice. They would call the cops, and he would probably be arrested, and if things here were the way he thought they were, they would send Cinder back here. She would be horribly punished for Tai’s actions. That couldn’t happen. He wouldn’t let it.

There was a window in the room. Hopefully it would open, and they could escape that way.

Unfortunately, the door didn’t open. But he wasn’t going to let that stop him. Tai kicked through the window, and used his fists to break it more so that the hole was large enough for them to fit through. 

“Come on, let’s go,” he waved to Cinder.

“Wait,” she said, “my swords. I need to grab my swords.” She dashed over to a cabinet, and reached inside. She grabbed a bundle of cloth and unwrapped two blades that lay inside. She nodded, shaking, and followed Tai to the window.

He jumped out, and held his hands out for her. He had a couple of cuts from the glass, but he had bigger worries at the moment. He grabbed Cinder’s wrist and started running. He didn’t have a destination in mind, but they had to get far away from the hotel before anyone noticed.

Far too soon, before they had made it more than five blocks, he heard sirens. Someone had noticed. He heard shouting, and the sirens were getting closer. He had to do something, he had to protect Cinder. Tai pulled her into an alley and pressed up against a building. It would be okay. He knew of a way out of this.

He reached out on the tether that he was so familiar with, and  _ pulled _ . It felt like an eternity passed, but he saw the signature sign of Raven’s portal start to form in the air. Cinder gasped in fear and cowered behind him.

“It’s alright,” he whispered to her as the portal grew larger, black and red swirling ominously. Raven stepped through the portal, her mask covering her face. She growled at Tai, “ _ What _ .”

Cinder was shaking now. The sirens were getting very close.

Tai addressed Raven. “I need you to get us to Qrow, immediately. I may have done some things that are legally questionably but morally sound, and there may be cops coming after us.  _ Please _ , Raven. I know things aren’t great between us, but I’m using up my one ‘Raven’s get out of a crisis card’.”

“Fine. But only because there’s cops after you, and I hate those guys.” She scoffed and closed the current portal, drawing her blade to make another one.

She took the mask off of her face and glared. “ _ Go _ . Before I change my mind about helping.”

Tai grabbed Cinder and pulled her through the portal. He didn’t look back, and he knew Raven wouldn’t follow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, i know I posted this earlier, but someone pointed something out that I decided to fix, so I did a little rewriting. On another note, you can follow me at kaylatheboookwormwrites on tumblr for updates on my fics! Also, please let me know if you like it!


	3. Chapter 3

Qrow jerked awake violently at the sound of a portal forming in his room. He quickly rolled out of bed and grabbed his weapon, leaving it in sword form.

“Raven…?” his question was half a growl. She didn’t visit him often, so something was either very wrong, or she just _really_ wanted to see her family.

Something was _definitely_ wrong. 

Qrow blinked in confusion as Tai stumbled through the portal, a young girl in tow. The girl was shaking, violently, and they were both scraped up.

“Tai? What’s going on?” he asked, worried that there was about to be an army of grimm coming through that portal. Clearly they were running from _something_.

“Uh,” Tai started, “I can explain.”

Qrow waited for an explanation as Tai stood there stammering.

“Okayyy. Maybe start with why you have a kid with you,” Qrow drawled. “Maybe we should take this to the kitchen. It would be nice if I could have whatever discussion this is while _not_ in my underwear.”

“Right. Yeah, sorry,” Tai said, turning to open the door and walk towards the kitchen, the kid following him.

Qrow rubbed his temples, throwing on some clothes. Tai seemed shaken, scatterbrained. It was going to be a long night, and Qrow was going to need a drink.

“Okay,” Qrow stretched as he walked to the kitchen table, where Tai and the kid were both seated. “ _What_ happened? You were supposed to be in Atlas for a week. It’s been less than a day. Also, important question: what’s with the kid?”

Tai blew out a breath. “Qrow, this is Cinder. Cinder, this is Qrow. Cinder’s living situation wasn’t exactly… _great_ , so I think it would be a good idea for her to stay with us for a while. Actually, it’s pretty late. We should probably set up a bed for her.”

Qrow sighed, “Alright, she can take mine. We can change the sheets. C’mon Tai. Pipsqueak, you can stay here for a minute. Let us know if you need anything.”

The girl, who had been strangely quiet up until now, stood up. “Wait! You- you don’t have to. It’s fine, I can just sleep on the floor. Please, don’t worry about me, and definitely don’t give up your bed for me!”

Qrow blinked. Cinder looked terrified, like she was about to bolt. “Kid, it’s no trouble. At all. Don’t worry, I can just stay with this loser,” he said, jutting his thumb at Tai. “His bed fits two people comfortably. You are _not_ going to be staying on the floor. Got that?”

Cinder pulled into herself, hunching over. “Really, I-I don’t want to be any trouble.”

“Cinder,” said Tai. “Qrow is right. It’s really no trouble. You’re not imposing, and it was my choice to take you in. If anyone is being trouble, it’s me.” Tai smiled gently at her, and Qrow felt his heart melt, just a little. Tai was always so good with kids.

Qrow winked at her conspiratorially. “Yeah, he’s the troublemaker around here.”

He and Tai walked up the stairs and into the bedroom that Qrow usually slept in and changed the sheets, Tai pointedly avoiding making eye contact.

When they returned to the kitchen, Qrow was surprised to see the kid still sitting there. He had thought that she might have taken the opportunity to try to run off. She looked up at their approach, eyes wide with fear.

“Would you like to take a shower?” Tai asked. “We have spare towels and toothbrushes-”

They all turned, Cinder with a violent flinch, to look at the doorway as the floor creaked loudly. Two tiny heads ducked quickly behind the doorframe.

Qrow chuckled, “Hey there, kiddos. We know you’re there, so you can c’mon out.”

The tiny forms of Ruby and Yang scrambled into the kitchen, both girls latching onto their dad’s legs.

“Daddy!” Ruby shouted “You’re back!”

“Is something wrong?” Yang asked, face drawn with concern.

She tried to hide it, but they all heard Cinder’s breath hitch at the sight of the girls.

“Everything’s fine, girls,” Tai said. “Cinder, this is Yang and Ruby. Yang and Ruby, this is Cinder. She’s going to be staying with us for a little while. Now, it’s very late, and you two should go back to bed. We can talk more about it in the morning, okay?”

“Hi Cinder!” chirped Yang.

Ruby waved excitedly. “Hiiiiiii.”

Cinder just shrunk back from them.

Tai’s face softened as he lifted his kids, one in each arm. “Okay, back to bed with the two of you!” He walked up the stairs, taking them back to their rooms since clearly they wouldn’t go on their own.

Qrow glanced at Cinder as Tai walked away. She seemed rattled, and her breathing had quickened.

“Hey, kiddo. Breathe with me, okay? In for four, out for eight.” He started counting, and she followed along desperately, looking like she had just been offered a lifeline.

It took a few rounds, but she started to calm down, her breathing more even. Qrow turned to grab her a glass and filled it with water. “Here,” he said. “Drink.”

Cinder grabbed the glass and took a few hesitant sips. The unease in her eyes had only increased since she had seen the girls.

“It’s going to be okay, Cinder. I don’t know what happened to you before, but you’re safe here. No one will hurt you here. Understood?”

She nodded, uncertain.

“Great,” said Qrow. “I can show you where the bathroom is, and you can get cleaned up before bed.

He went to show Cinder where the bathroom was just as Tai returned to the kitchen. “I’m gonna get her stuff to get cleaned up, I’ll be back in a minute. C’mon kid, you can follow me,” Qrow waved at her over his shoulder.

Tai gave a thumbs-up in response.

Qrow showed her to the bathroom and gave her a toothbrush and towel. He grabbed an old t-shirt and some sweatpants- both of which would be huge on her- to wear for pajamas. They could get her some actual clothes tomorrow, but this was what they had for now, so it would have to do.

“Alright,” said Qrow, walking back into the kitchen and pouring himself a glass of whiskey, “talk.” 

Tai huffed a breath and glared at the glass in Qrow’s hand. “Okay. Well,” he started, looking at the air above Qrow’s head, “I am probably no longer allowed in Atlas, and I will be having some _words_ with James Ironwood.”

“Uh huh,” said Qrow noncommittally. “So, what happened.”

“She was being enslaved. She’s a child, and she said that this woman was her guardian, and she was being forced to work for the hotel I was staying in, and they were incredibly cruel to her. This woman was a monster. She had this- this _shock collar_ that she used to torture Cinder.It left a scar on her neck. And the woman’s daughters were just as bad. They were throwing plates at her. And she had to clean the whole hotel. They paid her nothing, and there’s no way that she was eating enough, or sleeping enough. She started working there when she was _ten._ She was there for three years. I had to do something, Qrow. I couldn’t just stand by and do _nothing_. I couldn’t let them hurt that child.” Tai put his head in his hands and let out a noise that could have been a laugh or a sob, it was hard to tell.

“Alright then,” Qrow said, swirling his drink, “so we have another kid. And we’re going to kill Jimmy for letting this shit fly in his city. And maybe I’ll kill the people who were responsible for this. Hey, question,” he said, leaning forward, “how on Remnant did you get Raven to help you?”

Tai blinked at Qrow at the sudden change in topic. “Well, I was kind of running from the cops, and I panicked, so I pulled on the link, and I told her I was using up her one-time offer of help, and I also told her that I was running from the cops and had committed some crimes, and I think _that_ got her to help me. Also, I committed some serious crimes, including kidnapping, so yeah I probably should stay far away from Atlas,” he said, wincing.

Qrow laughed at that and pulled Tai in for a hug. “Congrats on joining the criminal huntsman club. It’s fine. We can talk to Oz and Jimmy, and sort this all out, and even if we can’t, you did the right thing. I’m proud of you, and I know Summer would be too. I’m thinking that this has been enough excitement for one night. Let’s go to bed. Also, we might want to check on the kid. She’s probably done showering by this point.”

They went upstairs and Tai knocked gently on the bathroom door. “Hey Cinder, are you alright in there?” he called.

She opened the door immediately and flinched back from them, like she was expecting some kind of punishment.

“Are you okay?” Tai asked.

“I’m- y-yeah. Thank you,” she stammered. 

“Alright,” said Qrow, “your bedroom is gonna be the second one on the left. Take all the time you need, and yell if you need anything. We’ll be in the room next to you. Sound good?”

Cinder nodded meekly and Qrow and Tai let her be. As they walked to the room that they were now sharing, Tai leaned in and whispered to Qrow, “I’m a little worried that she’s going to get scared and run away. A lot worried, actually.”

Qrow bobbed his head, nod barely perceptible. “Me too. I was planning to keep an eye on her. I can take first watch.” 

“Yeah,” Tai yawned. “I’m completely exhausted. It was a hell of a night.”

“Night, sleeping beauty,” Qrow smirked.

Tai glared, before collapsing into bed. “If I wasn’t so tired, I would throw this pillow at you,” he muttered, trailing off at the end.

Qrow’s smirk softened as Tai fell asleep. Tai always tried so hard; he was a great dad and a great teacher. And he always tried to do the right thing. Qrow liked that about him. A lot. But, there was a kid to worry about, and Qrow could dwell on his love life another time.

He was worried about Cinder. Very worried. This poor kid had been a victim of human trafficking, and enslaved for years. She was going to have a hell of a time trusting them, or trusting anyone, really. His own childhood hadn’t exactly been a picnic, but at least he’d had Raven. He couldn’t imagine being alone. He couldn’t imagine being enslaved. But she was free now. And she wouldn’t be alone anymore. They were going to make sure she was never alone again.

Less than an hour had passed when Qrow heard the sound of stirring. The quiet _whoosh_ of a window opening sounded, barely audible. Had he been asleep, he doubted that the noise would have been loud enough to wake him.

He furrowed his brow. She was going out the window of a room that was on the second story. This kid would be lucky if she didn’t seriously hurt herself. He heard her drop to the ground and he cursed. He opened the bedroom door and ran into the hallway and down the stairs, not really caring about the noise. He left out the front door, opening and shutting it quietly so as not to scare her.

And _there_. If he peeled his eyes, he could just see her small form in the dark. She was running down the driveway and down the dirt road that the house was on. Qrow didn’t think he could catch up with her, definitely not without her thinking that she was being chased- not on foot at least. 

Before she could get too far, he shifted into a crow and took off, his wings beating almost silently against the air. When he caught up with her, she had slowed down to a walk, needing to catch her breath.

He shifted back about 10 feet behind her, and quietly called out, “Hey.”

She jumped at that, and spun around, ready to sprint again.

Qrow held up his hands in a placating gesture. “Kid, I’m not here to hurt you, and I’m not going to force you to do anything. We’re just worried about you. We want you to be safe.” He sank to a seated position, hoping that it would help her relax a little. “Where were you planning on going, exactly?”

Cinder looked at a loss for words. “I-. I don’t know. I just- I can’t do it again. I can’t take anymore of this. I saw my chance… and I took it. I just want to be free.” It was hard to see in the dark, but Qrow could hear the tears in her voice, and knew her eyes would be wet if he could see them.

“We aren’t jail wardens,” said Qrow. “We don’t want you to work, we don’t want anything from you. We just want you to be a kid. Sorry about Tai kidnapping you, by the way. That was probably not the best move for gaining your trust. If it helps, Tai and I, we’re huntsmen. Our jobs are to hunt grimm and protect people. Tai actually teaches at Signal, a combat school where the kids start at around your age. He saw that people were hurting you, and he wanted to do something about it.

“Look, I’m not saying that you have to stay with us. You don’t have to do anything. You’re free now. But you’re still a kid. Please let us help you. Please stay with us, at least for a little while. It would give us a lot of peace of mind to know that you have a roof over your head and food in your stomach, and that no one will be hurting you. Okay?”

Cinder sunk to her knees, exhausted and defeated. Qrow sat next to her and pulled her into a gentle hug. She stiffened at first, and then leaned into it. “Okay,” she sniffed into his shirt. “I’ll stay.”

“Alright,” said Qrow, getting to his feet. “Do you want to walk, or do you want me to carry you?”

“Huh? I can walk.” she said, a note of confusion in her voice.

They trudged back to the house and Qrow put her back to bed before finally falling into bed himself. Things were going to be okay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay so apparently there were a couple of typos but my attention span is totally shot  
> So if you want feel free to point them out! Or don't it's all cool. I hope you like the chapter!

As far as Cinder was concerned, things were less than okay. She had been taken from one location and placed into another, with no idea what, specifically, was expected of her. 

Despite the fact that she had gotten to bed very late, she woke up before anyone else in the house. Over the years, she had become a very light sleeper, because she would be harshly punished for sleeping in and missing work. And there was always work to be done.

Cinder was exhausted, and her eyes wanted so badly to close, but what if they kicked her out? Sure, they had  _ said _ that they didn’t need her to work, but people were selfish, and they wouldn’t have taken her in for no reason. Of course they wanted her to do the housework.

She took an unsteady breath as she changed back into her clothing, wincing at the memories that came with the uniform. At least the collar was gone. But who knew what it would be replaced with.

This family seemed nice, but anyone could put on appearances. Cinder didn’t trust a single one of them as far as she could throw them, especially the kids. Her  _ last _ two stepsisters had been monsters, and if her luck held, these ones would be too. Maybe, if she did everything right, they wouldn’t torment her. On the bright side, they seemed a little young to be well versed in the language of cruelty.

And sure, this place was different, these  _ people _ were different from the ones that she had become familiar with, but they were people all the same. She knew the drill. Cinder pushed herself through the hall, down the stairs and into the kitchen, cringing at every creak in the floor. They would be so mad if she woke them.

Okay. First things first, clean the floor, make breakfast, then clean the dishes and the rest of the kitchen. She felt her breath quicken as she realized that she didn’t know where the cleaning supplies were. She could do this. She was a teenager now, old enough to figure this out. 

Perhaps under the sink? She opened up the cabinet and was disappointed not to see what she was looking for. But she needed a broom and dustpan first, anyway. She crouched and put her head in her hands. She could do this.

Closets. That’s where people usually kept brooms. Everything was probably in a closet.

Cinder stood and walked into what looked like a living room of sorts. There was a closet there, which probably held what she was looking for. She stepped forward to open the door and froze when she saw what was in the corner.

There was a dog bed, with a small black and white dog sleeping in it.

She felt her chest constrict. Of course. They didn’t  _ need _ a shock collar, not when they had this dog to terrorize her. It would probably attack on command. 

Okay. She just had to be quiet enough not to wake the dog. That was fine. This would all be fine. She opened the closet door slowly, taking her time turning the handle, and winced at the sound it made. She looked over at the dog in the corner, and was relieved to see that it hadn’t moved.

Cinder breathed a quiet sigh of relief at the sight of a broom, dustpan, and a mop and bucket. Perfect. She could do this.

Slowly, desperately trying not to knock anything over, she pulled out the cleaning materials. Thank goodness they didn’t all fall over. She probably would have cried if they had.

Okay. Sweep the floors, mop them, cook breakfast, clean the kitchen. She took the broom and dustpan and headed to the kitchen. She could start there.

Sweeping the floors was always a long and tedious task, but at least it never changed. Sure, it hurt her back after a while, but it also was calming and repetitive, and gave her time to think. Sweeping was always great for letting her imagination run wild, to dream of freedom, of being able to do what she wanted. One day, she would be free. She could go anywhere, and no one could tell her what to do. She would be strong, she would be powerful enough that no one could ever control her. Her weapons would be her only masters, her strength her guide. She would travel the world, and one day she would never have to sweep another floor. She would spread her wings, free of shackles and shock collars, and she would fly.

But for now, she would sweep. Every piece of dirt that she collected was one step closer to freedom, every cleaned floor a show of her determination. She was good at it, and for now, it would be enough. She would be a perfect servant, and when the time came, she would run as far as her legs would take her.

By the time she had swept the whole of the house, barring the room that the dog was in, the sky had lightened considerably. But that was okay, because no one was awake. Her back ached, badly, and she could feel herself swaying on her feet. She needed food, and rest, but there was work to do. The floor needed to be mopped. Cinde groaned, miserable, but she grabbed the mop anyway, and filled the bucket with warm, soapy water. She would almost rather be on her hands and knees to scrub the floor, if only for a change in position, for some relief for her body.

She hadn’t seen a brush, though, or even a rag, so the mop it would have to be. This time she started upstairs, and worked her way back to the kitchen. This way, she wouldn’t have to walk through the freshly cleaned floor.

The water became disgusting much too quickly, and she kept having to toss it outside and refill the bucket. She huffed in annoyance each time. She hated having to interrupt her rhythm when doing tasks for any reason, and it was a major pain. As she cleaned in the halls, she winced at each creak in the floor. Thankfully, it seemed as though the family consisted of heavy sleepers. If no one was awake, no one could harm her for her missteps.

It took far longer than she wanted to, but Cinder eventually worked her way back downstairs. She was still avoiding the living room. She really didn’t want to wake the dog. She tiptoed into the room where the dog was sleeping with a healthy amount of trepidation. She felt her hands shake, and there was a knot of unease in her stomach.

Cinder gasped when she looked in the corner, and the dog bed was empty. She had messed up. She had woken the dog, and now it was going to bite her. It was going to attack her. She had failed, she wasn’t good enough.

She looked down at her feet and barely managed to conceal a scream. She backed against the wall as the dog approached her, a ball in its mouth. She curled in on herself, trying to protect her torso as it dropped the ball at her feet, looking up at her. Was this what it did before it attacked? Was it about to come at her with its claws? She couldn’t  _ do _ anything to the dog, she would be killed for sure. Servants were disposable, after all.

Cinder felt herself shaking, her hands up in a show of surrender. “Good- good doggie.  _ Nice _ doggie. Please don’t hurt me doggie.”

The dog yipped and jumped up at her, front paws on her legs. She couldn’t stop herself. She screamed.

The dog jumped off of her, but she felt tears forming in her eyes as she heard doors opening and frantic footsteps in the hallway. She cowered against the wall, knowing what would come next. They were going to hurt her. She had bothered them, woken them up with her screams, and now she was going to pay for it.

She wouldn’t beg, begging only made things worse, but… “I’m sorry,” she choked out, sinking to her knees, head bowed. She was new here, maybe they would show some leniency. She hoped.

Cinder flinched, eyes shut, as the dog was pushed out of the way, and the two men, Tai and Qrow, kneeled in front of her.

“Hey kiddo,” came a scratchy voice that she thought might belong to Qrow, “I see you’ve met Zwei.”

She nodded mutely. She wouldn’t give them any more reasons to be angry.

Tai spoke next. “I’m so sorry, we should have warned you. We just thought we’d be up first, and we could introduce you to Zwei slowly. I promise you, he won’t hurt you. He just wants to play. But we understand if you want to stay away from him. What were you doing up so early, anyway?”

“I… I was cleaning.”

She felt a hand under her chin. “Look, pipsqueak, I told you we don’t need you to do the cleaning. That’s our job,” Qrow said gently.

“I-I thought it might be a trick. I thought that I should do it just in case…” she whispered.

“It’s okay. But I promise you don’t have to do that here. It’s your turn to just be a kid,” said Tai.

Her stomach growled loudly, cutting into the conversation, and she cringed.

“Okay,” said Qrow, slapping Tai on the shoulder, “Tai here is going to make us breakfast, and then everyone is going back to bed. We all had a late night, you two especially, and it’s still early.”

Tai turned around, looking behind them. “Hey girls, want to help Uncle Qrow set the table? I’m making chocolate chip pancakes!”

Cinder flinched as two tiny voices cheered. She hadn’t even known that the kids were there. But it was certainly weird, that they were being asked to do something, and she wasn’t.

The twoo adults stood, and Tai offered her a hand to help her up. They all started heading towards the kitchen when Qrow slipped and fell backwards.

Cinder gasped. “Oh no no I’m so sorry I just mopped the floor-”

She was cut off by boisterous laughter coming from all four of the other people in the room. She cocked her head, confused, as Tai helped the other man off of the floor, laughing the whole time.

“You’re- you’re not mad?” she asked, afraid of the answer.

Qrow chuckled. “Are you kidding? I’m certainly awake now. That was an exciting way to start the day.”

The smallest girl, who might have been named Crimson or Red or something- Cinder didn’t remember- wrapped her arms around Qrow’s legs, gasping in delight. “Slidey floor! We can skate around in our socks! C’mon!” she grabbed her sister by the sleeve and pushed off, circling around the kitchen table.

“Ruby! Be careful!” Tai shouted.

Ruby just giggled and kept sliding around the floor. She approached Cinder and looked up at her, eyes wide and innocent. Cinder flinched away, but the child just waved at her. “Come play with us! We can all slide around the floor together! And Zwei can join us too! Can we be friends? Oh! Are you going to be our new sister? You’re so cool and awesome and pretty! Whee!” Ruby yelled in excitement as she went sliding away, spinning in a circle.

Cinder was left thoroughly baffled.  _ What _ was that? That was nothing like any human interaction she could remember having. This child seemed… weirdly sweet. It didn’t seem like she or her sister wanted to do Cinder any harm. Maybe… maybe things really  _ would  _ be different this time.

“Okay little monkeys,” Tai started, “I can’t make the pancakes with you kids sliding around in the kitchen. That would be unsafe. How about you sit down at the table and hang out with Cinder and Qrow, okay? Just don’t bother her too much, she’s still pretty new around here.”

The two kids obeyed, vibrating with energy.

“Hi Cinder!,” Yang said, “I like your hair! It’s so pretty!”

Cinder blinked, used to being ignored. “Thanks? I like yours, too.”

Yang looked at Qrow, excited. “Uncle Qrow! She likes my hair! I am never cutting it ever!”

Qrow laughed. “Okay, firecracker.”

“Yang,” said Tai from the stove, “you have to get a haircut  _ sometime _ . How are you going to fight the grimm with your hair always in your face, huh?”

“Uh, I’m just gonna be really careful, and really strong, and really fast. Duh!” she responded, sounding remarkably sure of herself for a small child.

Cinder raised an eyebrow, and concealed a smirk behind her hand. She had to admit, it was kind of funny watching these kids. They were so different from anyone she had ever met.

Somehow, she found herself surprised when a plate was placed in front of her. She had seen pancakes before, but never actually had them. They smelled delicious, and her mouth watered at the sight.

She watched everyone else start eating, and she almost cried when she took her first bite. She had never in her life eaten anything but table scraps, nevermind a hot meal. And this was the best thing she had ever tasted in her entire life. Cinder knew that she was eating far too quickly, and she was burning her mouth, but it was so good that she didn’t care.

Qrow grinned at her, and raised an eyebrow at her cleaned plate. “Wow, kiddo. Want seconds?”

“Am- am I allowed to?” she asked, uncertain.

“Heck yeah!” said Qrow, grabbing her plate and piling more pancakes onto it, topping it with a generous helping of syrup.

It was official. She had found her new favorite people. She couldn’t believe that they were giving her all of this food, and they didn’t even want her to work.

“Thank you,” she said. It was all that she could think to say.

“No problem, Cinder,” Qrow said.

“Alright,” said Tai. “Now that breakfast is over, Qrow is on dish duty, and the rest of us are going back to sleep. No arguing. Sleep is important, and I know none of us got enough. Especially you, Cinder,” he finished, expression softening.

“Awesome,” Qrow responded, stretching. “Now all of you, shoo. I’ve got some dishes to wash. You too, pipsqueaks,” he said, pointing at the three girls.

“Are you sure?” Cinder asked.

“Positive. Now go back to bed,” Qrow waved her out of the room with his hands.

This place was weird, but she was really liking the warm feeling in her chest.


	5. Chapter 5

When Cinder woke up, she momentarily forgot where she was. For a moment, she was incredibly confused about the fact that she was in an actual bed. It took her a moment to remember what had happened, but her breath still caught in her throat when she noticed how high the sun was in the sky.

Right. She had been instructed to rest. She could be good. She could do as she was told. She would go back to sleep.

Cinder was exhausted, anyway. She could feel a lifetime’s worth of sleep deprivation, malnourishment, and constant overwhelming work finally catching up with her. She felt like she could sleep forever, despite the fact that it went against everything she had learned over the years.

Groaning, she slumped back in the bed, pulling the covers to her chin. She couldn’t remember the last time she had felt this comfortable, or this relaxed. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had truly taken care of her, or told her that she could rest. She wasn’t sure she had ever just been allowed to exist like this.

The tears were gathering in her eyes, running down her face before she could stop them. No one had ever cared for her. All her life, she had been alone. And now she wasn’t. It felt weird to cry about it now, now that she was safe from harm, but now she had the time to reflect, to really think about how unfair it all was.

And it  _ was _ unfair. Cinder’s life had been hell. And now- now she was safe. Now she was  _ free _ . She could be a dumb kid and slide around on the floor in her socks. She didn’t have to eat scraps anymore. Her throat burned, her chest felt tight. She curled up in a ball, and let the tidal wave of emotions take her away.

Eventually, she had cried herself out, and she dozed in and out of sleep for hours. When Cinder actually got out of bed, the sun was setting, the shattered moon not yet visible in the sky. She was pretty sure she had just slept for around twelve hours. She couldn’t remember the last time she had done that.

Cinder shook her head, trying to clear it. At this rate she was going to think herself into oblivion. She really needed to distract herself from her own thoughts. She crept downstairs, wincing at the creaking of the stairs that she wasn’t sure she would ever get used to.

Tai and Qrow were sitting at the kitchen table, while Ruby and Yang were in the living room, watching something on the television with rapt attention.

“Hey Cinder,” Tai waved. “Why don’t you go hang out with the girls while Qrow and I get started on dinner?”

Cinder nodded obediently, not used to being acknowledged, but plenty used to being told what to do. She didn’t really want to hang out with the kids, she wasn’t sure she even knew how to interact with them, but she didn’t want to be a burden. 

She walked into the living room where the kids were, and quietly sat on the floor next to the couch, hoping that they wouldn’t notice her. Unfortunately, things rarely went the way that Cinder wanted them to.

The two little girls gasped with joy upon noticing her, and immediately came over to interact.

“You should come sit with us!” the blond one,  _ Yang _ \- her mind supplied shouted.

The smaller one,  _ Ruby _ , was jumping in excitement next to her sister, flapping her hands. “Yeah c’mon! Do you wanna play a game with us?”

Cinder blinked. “Um,” was all she managed to get out. She had no script for this. This was so far outside the realm of any human interaction she had ever had, she didn’t have any idea how to respond. They wanted her to sit with them? To play with them? Cinder couldn’t even remember ever playing anything before. This was, quite frankly, pretty bizarre.

“That’s a yes!” Yang shouted, pumping her fist. The two girls pulled Cinder over to the couch, pushing her so she sat between them. Cinder had  _ thought _ that she was done being confused by this family, but apparently, she was wrong. The two kids set to work pulling out a board game of some kind, little pieces and dice and cards.

“This is our game! Dad and Uncle Qrow helped us make it! We call it Monopoly 2! So the goal is to buy as many weapons as you can and kill all the Grimm!” Ruby started to explain.

“Okay,” Yang said, “so here’s the rules-,” she started listing off an incredibly complex and confusing set of directions. “Make sense?” she finished.

“Um. Yes?” Cinder responded. Their game made about as much sense as everything else here, so Cinder figured she could handle it.

The game started with rolling two dice, and picking a piece to play as. Cinder picked a cloaked figure. 

Ruby gasped when she saw. “That’s the Grimm reaper! She’s Uncle Qrow’s favorite!” She leaned in close to Cinder and whispered, “Don’t tell anyone, but he’s kind of a fanboy.” She dissolved into giggles, and Cinder felt the ridiculous urge to join her, though she wasn’t sure who the Grimm reaper was, or what exactly it meant to be a ‘fanboy’.

Cinder rolled the dice and landed on ‘knives’. She bought them, and even though they were fake knives, she felt more secure.

“Nice!” Yang said, before rolling her own and landing on ‘spear’. She bought it, and raised an imaginary spear over her head, yelling in delight. Cinder giggled at the sight.

Ruby rolled too and got ‘gun’. She looked disappointed, and decided to keep moving. “I wanted a scytheeeee,” she whined.

Yang leaned towards Cinder and whispered, “Ruby is terrible at this game. She always wants to wait until she lands on scythe to buy anything. And then when she has to fight Grimm she doesn’t have a weapon and always dies. It’s really funny,” her eyes were alight with mirth as she watched her little sister complain dramatically about not having her favorite weapon.

Cinder found herself smirking at the ridiculous sight. She rolled again and got a shield.

“Oh no!” Yang shouted. “The Grimm are attacking a local settlement! We have to save the people!”

“Wait what!” Ruby cried. “I’m defenseless!”

“Sucks to be you!” Yang laughed at her.

The two girls took out a bunch of Grimm pieces and placed them on the board, hitting them with their own pieces in a pretend fight.

“And Ruby is out of aura! She is down!” Yang called out in an announcer’s voice.

Ruby wailed. “Nooooooo!” collapsing on the floor. “Remember me!” she cried out, crossing her arms and sticking her tongue out, pretending to be dead.

“C’mon Cinder!” Yang yelled. “You have to help me fight! We are the last line of defense for the people!”

Cinder raised an eyebrow. No lives were  _ actually _ at stake here, but she would help anyway. Uncertain, she took her piece and smashed it into a Beowulf.

“And the Grimm reaper takes down a Grimm with her trusty knives and shield!” Yang called. “And another one! Smash! She’s winning the fight! The people have been saved! Hooray! We did it! We won!”

Cinder blushed and ducked her head as the two girls cheered for her. She had never had anyone be this  _ nice _ to her. No one had ever cheered her on. The warmth in her chest came back, and she was really glad for her new stepsisters.

After they fought the Grimm, they kept playing. Ruby came back to life with a magic potion, and they kept going. Eventually, they were called for dinner, but Ruby and Yang just ignored their dad.

“Shhh,” Ruby said, way too loudly. “If we pretend we can’t hear him, we can keep playing!”

Cinder was pretty sure that that  _ wasn’t  _ how it worked, but she was new around here. She would follow their lead.

“C’mon kiddos! We were  _ going _ to show you some fighting moves tomorrow, and I was  _ going _ to show you my scythe, but if you don’t eat dinner, then, well…” Qrow called.

Both Yang and Ruby jumped to their feet at that, and raced each other to the dining room. Cinder followed behind, confused as always.

“That’s more like it,” Qrow winked.

“Dad! Uncle Qrow! Cinder is so good at Monopoly 2! She’s so smart and cool!” Yang shouted.

“Can she be our sister forever? Please! Pleaseeeeee,” Ruby yelled.

Cinder could have cried at that. She almost did.

“Well,” Tai said. “I have to talk to James after dinner, and I should be able to let you know what’s going to happen after that.”

Cinder felt the ache of disappointment in her chest. She was sure that she would be kicked out, she would be sent back to Atlas. She knew it showed on her face, but she didn’t have the energy to school her features. She jolted as she felt two pairs of arms encircle her.

She blinked in confusion, looking at the small faces that were peering up at her.

“Tell Mr. James that we’re keeping her! She’s our big sister now,” Yang said, a defiant expression on her face.

Tai smiled. “That’s  _ exactly _ what I plan to tell him, sweetheart.”

Both Ruby and Yang shouted in excitement at that, and squeezed Cinder harder. She thought this might be a hug. Hugs were good, right? They liked her? They wanted her here? She could feel the tears, hot on her face as she leaned into the two girls clinging to her like a lifeline. And… they didn’t want to hurt her. She may not be powerful, but for the first time in her life, she was safe.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ahh sorry for the delay, depression has been kicking my ass. Also, next time, conversation between Tai and Qrow and Ironwood! It's gonna be super fun. Hope y'all enjoyed the chapter!


	6. Chapter 6

When his scroll vibrated, Tai squeaked and threw it across the room. He knew that Ironwood would call him at some point, and they very much needed to exchange words, but it felt far too soon and sudden.

Qrow smirked at him from where he was sitting. “You gonna get that?” he asked, making no move to help.

Tai grimaced and walked over to pick up his scroll from where it had landed on the floor. He stood there and stared at it in his hand, not really wanting to deal with this, not wanting to have this very necessary conversation. As much as he needed to yell at Ironwood, he didn’t exactly have a script planned out, and the longer he waited the more nervous he got.

“I’m pretty sure you have to actually hit the ‘accept call’ button,” Qrow drawled.

Tai shushed him and reluctantly pressed the button to pick up the call.

“ _ Tai _ ,” came the voice on the other end, “what the _ hell  _ did you _ do _ ?”

“You’re asking  _ me _ ? What about  _ you _ ? Your kingdom is a nightmare!” Tai responded, matching the level of vitriol he was presented with. “There was blatant faunus discrimination everywhere, and there was an enslaved and abused child trapped working in the hotel that you put me in! What the hell?!”

Ironwood scoffed at that. “That may be, but you destroyed property and kidnapped a child! That is  _ not _ the proper response. You should have gone through legal channels to remedy the perceived issue.”

“Are you kidding, James? That woman was  _ clearly _ powerful and had enough influence that she would have gotten off without any punishment. She had that girl working in that hotel since she was  _ ten _ . She fed her scraps, let her daughters torment her, and shocked her with an electrical collar when she wasn’t working fast enough.

“She was  _ torturing a child _ , James. I did the right thing, and I’m not going to apologize for it,” Tai snarled

Ironwood sighed. “Tai, you can’t just go around breaking laws like that. You stole a child, who was legally working at that hotel as a ward of the Madame. Huntsmen are supposed to follow and uphold the laws.”

“No. Huntsmen are supposed to protect people. Which I did. Following the laws comes second, especially when those laws don’t protect people. Doing the right thing will  _ always _ come first.”

“That’s noble of you, but I’m trying to keep a kingdom running, here. There have to be rules, and they have to be followed, or else there will be chaos. And you owe a significant amount for the property damage you caused,” Ironwood said, clearly defeated.

“I’m not giving any money to a woman who enslaved a child,” Tai responded, narrowing his eyes at his scroll. “Besides, if you’re so concerned about  _ laws _ , maybe you should check to see where she got a child slave from. That can’t possibly be legal.”

Ironwood sighed again. “I  _ have _ checked, and no laws were explicitly broken. But until you pay for the damages and return the child to her rightful guardian, you will be considered a fugitive, and will be arrested if you try to enter Atlas.”

“If it means keeping Cinder safe and away from harm, then I think I can live with not going back to your kingdom of human rights violations,  _ General _ . This conversation is over, until you can learn to do the right thing.” Tai hung up, not letting Ironwood get the last word.

He let out a breath and dropped his scroll on the table. He turned to Qrow and grinned at him. “Well, that sucked, and I guess I’m banned from Atlas, now.”

“Oh, how tragic. I can’t believe you’re more of a criminal than  _ I _ am, now. I used to be a  _ Bandit _ ! You rebel, you,” Qrow reached up to dramatically wipe an invisible tear from his eye. “I’m so proud. Team STRQ’s rule follower, all grown up.”

Tai snickered at him, then glared. “Hey! I am not a rule follower!”

“Taiyang, you’re a loving dad to some great kids. I’m the cool uncle, and Raven ran off to be a Bandit. You certainly  _ look _ like the responsible one here,” Qrow said, flashing him a smirk. “But you know, if you want to keep this rebellious streak going, I do have an idea.”

“Yeah?” Tai raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah. Cinder was somewhere else before she was enslaved, and I bet you it wasn’t a happy little home if she ended up where she did. What do you say we burn a human trafficking ring to the ground?”

“I’d say I think I love you,” Tai grinned, his smile sharp as knives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, I know this chapter was really short, and I'm sorry about that, but it seemed like a good stopping point. More fluff to come! No criticism, please!


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> trigger warning: panic attack

The next morning dawned clear and bright, the sky a beautiful array of oranges, reds, and pinks. The birds chirped loudly, and it was a weird change for Cinder, a strange juxtaposition when compared to the gloom and the whirring of the frozen city of Atlas. The island of Patch almost reminded her of the farmhouse in Mistral, the one where she had been kept with a bunch of other kids who pushed her around. 

Being with her new family was different, though, in that she finally had a bed to sleep in, and three meals a day. It was definitely weird, and the softness of the bed made it hard to sleep, unless she was completely exhausted. The only thing she missed, really, was the training with Rhodes. It had been  _ fun _ , almost, to get stronger, to work towards one day being free.

But now that freedom had just been handed to her on a silver platter, she almost didn’t know what to do with herself.

Not that it was a bad thing, necessarily. But she had been working towards a specific goal for years, and now the rug had been pulled out from under her feet. Cinder knew it didn’t make much sense, but it almost felt like she was in some sort of free-fall. And she had no idea when she would hit the ground. 

Cinder felt herself itching to train. She needed a goal. She  _ needed  _ to work towards something. She had never in her life sat around being taken care of, and she had no idea how to be a kid, how to just exist without anything being expected of her, without having to constantly be vigilant and watch out for her own safety.

She shook her head to clear it and stood, wide awake despite the fact that it was only dawn. Walking to the kitchen, she made breakfast, enough for everyone, and then ate her own share. Cinder blinked down at her own plate as she ate, never having eaten first in her life. She had always been fed scraps and leftovers, the trash that no one else would eat.

She was starting to think she would never get used to all of this.

Mechanically, she started cleaning the dishes, before startling as she realized that she had been explicitly asked not to do so. She halted, the dishes half-done, and made herself walk away. It felt weird, really weird, and she braced herself for Madame’s scolding voice, for the shock around her neck, only to find it didn’t come.

Madame wasn’t here. Madame couldn’t hurt her. No one was going to hurt her ever again.

Cinder let out a breath, her whole body trembling.  _ I’m safe _ , she reminded herself, repeating it like a mantra in her head as she sat down at the kitchen table. She was safe and she was free.

She knew, logically, that she was safe here. But the tightness in her chest didn’t listen to her, the shaking of her hands didn’t listen to her, and the spiralling thoughts in her head certainly didn’t listen.

Cinder tried hard-  _ so hard _ \- to keep breathing like a normal person, but it just devolved into a series of wheezes and shallow intakes of air. She quickly stood up and walked into the living room, and collapsed on the couch, hugging a pillow to her chest. She squeezed it so hard she worried it would explode, that she would accidentally light it on fire with her semblance.

_ Then _ she would probably be in trouble. No one liked having their things destroyed. Or fires. 

Maybe she needed air. Cinder threw the pillow, relieved to find it wasn’t smoking, and ran outside, letting the cool air of the morning settle over her. It helped, a little, especially in that the humidity and the morning dew were so unlike anything that could be found in Atlas. 

She wasn’t at the Glass Unicorn, she wasn’t trapped, she wasn’t being forced to work. The only thing that chained her now was the limit of the sky, the edges of the earth beneath her feet. For a moment, she let herself imagine what it would be to fly, to soar, to never be bound again by any limits, not even by the law of gravity.

Her feet started moving beneath her, before she was even aware of it, and she was running, running as fast as her legs could carry her. She had never felt more free, more limitless. She would be strong, and she would be fast, and she would run until her legs gave out beneath her.

As she ran, she pictured herself taking off, soaring. And for a moment she believed it, and she felt unstoppable. A laugh escaped her, giddy and wild, and the crack in her heart that had formed so long ago felt a little less deep, the fog that surrounded her lifted. She wasn’t powerless, and she was no longer beholden to anyone or anything. 

Cinder was sure, now. She was free.

Of course, she wasn’t actually limitless, and her lungs made that fact known far too soon. Much too quickly for her liking, she had to stop running, hunched over and panting from the exertion. The urge to vomit overtook her and she gagged into the bushes, irritated at the unpleasantness of it.

But she could get stronger, then she could run farther, faster, and this feeling of freedom would never fade. She was sure of it.

Spirits buoyed, Cinder turned around and began to jog back towards the Xiao Long house. She would be stronger than she ever was before, and she would never wear a collar again.

No one else was awake when she returned, given it was barely past dawn. The quiet was refreshing. It had never been quiet at the orphanage, and it had never been quiet at the Glass Unicorn, either. Both places were perpetually crowded with people, and the hotel had people coming and going at all times of the night. There was always more work to do, and she had never had the luxury of reveling in the silence.

Cinder smiled, lungs burning, legs aching, and a sense of peace falling over her. There were no rules, no chores to complete, no punishment for not being good enough. She could do anything she wanted at the moment, and no one would stop her. But she was sweaty and disgusting, and what she really wanted to do was shower.

And she could! No one would tell her no, no one would dictate for her exactly what to do at every second of the day. Back at the hotel, she had been forced to clean up using only a bucket of cold water, some soap, and a threadbare cloth. The showers, the fancy bathrooms, the clean towels and linens, the hot water- it was all reserved for the hotel guests. And Madame and her daughters. Everyone  _ but _ Cinder. She had forever been denied the luxuries that she had been forced to supply for others. And now it was her turn.

The bathroom wasn’t nearly as clean and prim as the bathrooms at the Glass Unicorn, but the water was warm, and it felt heavenly. This life was beautiful, and she was so grateful that she had been stolen away from her old, miserable existence. And it brought a smile to her face to think about how upset Madame would be now that Cinder wasn’t there to clean everything.

Her smile slipped, though, to think that there may be some other helpless kid in her former position. Could she let someone else suffer the way she had? Could she even do anything? She hadn’t escaped on her own, she had had help. She was free, but could she just sit by while someone else was shackled in her shock collar?

As a thirteen year old who had technically been kidnapped, there probably wasn’t much that she could do, realistically, which frustrated her to no end.

Getting out of the shower, and not knowing what to do with her free time, Cinder busied herself by pacing around the living room, her anxiety tracking across the carpet. It would probably help if she had less time to think. What did most young teenagers spend their time doing? Was it school? Was it work? Was it staring at the wall for hours a day? Cinder really didn’t know. What were thirteen-year olds supposed to do? She supposed she would have to ask Tai and Qrow when they woke up, because she was fairly certain that most kids didn’t spend their time dreaming about freeing child slaves.

But it’s not like Cinder could count herself among most kids. She didn’t exactly lead a  _ normal _ life.

Trying not to worry about the things that she couldn't change right this moment, Cinder counted the cracks on the wooden floor. That was a productive use of her time, right? Eventually, she got frustrated with that, and got up and finished cleaning the dishes. Sure, she wasn’t supposed to, but it was nearly eight a.m., and no one else was up.  _ It was awfully strange how late they all slept _ , she mused to herself. 

Her original plan had been to be a huntress, to get the freedom she had always dreamed of, but the plan needed to change. She was free, now, and she could do anything, sure, but she could still be a huntress. It would still allow her to keep her freedom, and she could liberate others who were in the same position she had been in. New plan: still become a huntress, but for a different reason. Yeah, that could work. She had been working towards this goal already, and there was no reason to stop now. Cinder knew what she was meant for, now. She was destined to fly.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If it wasn't after 1am, or if I had the patience to spend multiple days on a single chapter, this would have been much longer. oops  
> :D have an awesome day!  
> and sorry if this is kinda boring and slow, I do actually have some more interesting plans for future chapters!


	8. Chapter 8

“I want to train,” Cinder blurted out the moment Qrow opened the bedroom door.

He blinked at her. “Huh?”

“I’m going to be a huntress.”

“Well that’s great!” he responded. “Because Tai and I are both huntsmen and taught at combat schools, so that’s something we can actually help you with. But you  _ definitely _ didn’t answer my question.” Qrow shrugged and stretched, turning back to Tai, who was putting on his socks. “Hear that? We’ve got three little huntresses-in-training in this house now.”

Tai’s eyes gleamed. “I’m so proud,” he whispered.

Cinder felt her face grow warm. Someone was  _ proud _ ? Of  _ her _ ? That was a first. “I-,” she started. “I want to save other kids who were forced into servitude, like I was.” She scuffed her feet on the floor, suddenly feeling very interested in the cracks in the wood.

If she had been looking up, she would have seen the meaningful glance that Qrow and Tai shared.

“That’s a noble goal, kiddo,” Qrow said, smiling at her. “Now c’mon. Let’s go eat breakfast.”

Cinder squeaked, not sure if she should mention that she already ate. “I, um. I made some eggs. They’re in the refrigerator,” she mumbled, her earlier streak of confidence starting to fade now that she had shared her ambition.

“Cinder, honey, you really didn’t have to do that,” Tai said gently.

Cinder shrugged, looking down again. “Sorry.”

“You don’t have anything to be sorry for, kid,” Qrow muttered, patting her gently on the head. He walked past her, and went to knock on the doors of Yang and Ruby’s rooms. “Hey pipsqueaks!” he called. “Time to get up!”

Movement immediately sounded from Ruby’s room, and she slammed into the door a second later, the knob twisting. She burst into the hallway, face filled with glee. She gasped, and started yelling, “Can we train today? Can we? Can we? Can we pleaseeeeee,”

“Sure, Ruby,” Tai said, laughter in his voice.

Ruby started jumping up and down, squealing with happiness. “I want a scythe! I want a scythe! I’m gonna be just like Uncle Qrow! Yayyyyyy!!!!”

Qrow burst into laughter and held his hand up for a high-five, while Tai started to pipe up in protest.

“Heck yeah, kiddo. You are gonna be  _ the _ coolest scythe wielder out there. Besides me,” Qrow smirked at her.

Her eyes went wide, and she rushed down the stairs, arms held high in joy.

Tai narrowed his eyes at Qrow. “Qrow Branwen, you will  _ not _ be teaching my six-year old daughter how to use that monstrosity of a weapon. She’ll hurt herself!”

“I’ll have you know that I am a  _ great _ teacher,” Qrow pouted at him.

Cinder grimaced watching them. Usually when people got mad, they liked to take it out on her. She cringed and shrunk in on herself.

Tai sighed. “I’ll go wake Yang, but we are  _ not _ done here.”

Qrow winked at Cinder as Tai walked away. “I’d say we’re done here,” he whispered to her conspiratorially, glancing at Tai’s back. 

Cinder pressed herself farther into the wall. “So can we start training  _ today _ ?” she whispered.

“Definitely,” he said, holding out his hand in a fist.

Cinder blinked at it, confused, and reached out to shake it. She had seen those fancy huntsmen in the hotel do this all the time.

Qrow blinked back at her, and burst out laughing again. “Kiddo, it’s a fist bump,” he said, curling her hand into a fist. “Like this,” he demonstrated, bringing their fists together.

She nodded, face set, intent on learning everything she could. “Is it a part of training?” she asked.

“Uh. Sure. Just don’t try to do this in the middle of a fight. It is not an effective attack against an opponent.”

Cinder nodded again, determined to do her best.

She blinked and immediately flattened herself against the wall of the hallway, along with Qrow, as Tai burst out of Yang’s room, followed by Yang, who was throwing tiny-fisted punches at her dad and yelling, “Eat my fists!”

Tai shouted in mock fear, blocking her hits, before grabbing her arms, preventing her from throwing any more punches.

“Nooooo!” she screamed, pulling her arms but not actually getting anywhere.

“C’mon little dragon,” Tai said. “Breakfast first.”

“Nooo,” she groaned. “No breakfast. Only fighting! My enemies will fear meee!”

Tai picked Yang up and threw her over his shoulder, her hands slapping weakly against his back.

“Your enemies will never fear you if you don’t eat breakfast. You need it to grow big and strong. To the kitchen we go!”

“Awww,” she said, voice filled with disappointment as they headed downstairs.

Cinder shared a wide-eyed glance with Qrow. “Is it… is it usually like that here?”

He snorted. “Yeah, the kiddos can be a handful. I hope you’ll be a good influence on them. All kids look up to their older siblings, I’m pretty sure. Alright, let’s go join the chaos. Unless you’d rather not. It’s your choice,” he said, yawning.

In all honesty, Cinder had always wanted to try her hand at chaos. Strictly following the rules set for her wasn’t much of a childhood, but she had never been free of terrible consequences if she messed up or stepped out of line. She had never had the chance to just… be a kid. But a part of her wanted to.  _ She would be okay here _ , Cinder reminded herself. She tried to wipe the terrified look off of her face from witnessing the earlier argument and headed downstairs.

Tai was in the kitchen with Ruby and Yang, a plate of eggs in front of each of them.

“Hi Cinder,” he waved to her. “I know you already ate, but would you like anything else, maybe some more eggs? Also, thank you so much for making them.”

“Yeah, I think I’ll have some more eggs,” she said, not managing to make eye contact. It was still a shock to her, every time someone spoke to her like a human being. “Can I- can I join the chaos?” she whispered.

Tai grinned at her. “We would be  _ thrilled _ to have another troublemaker in this house.”

Qrow walked in, flask of something in his hand. Tai glared at him, but Qrow only returned the look. “You know what this is for,” Qrow muttered. “Anyway,” he continued, addressing the rest of them, “the plan is for Tai to work with Cinder today, and kinda assess where she’s at. I’ll work with the pipsqueaks over there,” he said, pointing to Ruby and Yang. “Ruby, I’ve got something special for you out in the garage,” he grinned.

“If it’s a scythe I’m throwing you off a cliff,” Tai glared.

Qrow put his hands up in defense. “Oh no, no siree. It is something completely different. I would not give a six-year old a scythe. But, I  _ would _ give a six-year old a small, hollow, wooden scythe.”

Ruby squealed, higher-pitched and louder than should be humanly possible. “I’M GETTING A SCYTHE! YESSS! THIS IS THE BEST DAY OF MY LIFE!” she screeched, getting up from the table and running in circles.

Tai sighed, putting his face in his hands. “Okay, fine. But you have to eat your eggs to wield a scythe. It’s the law.”

Ruby gasped and instantly returned to the table, shoveling food into her mouth so fast Cinder was worried she would choke on it. “Mm alf dove!” Ruby shouted, mouth still full of food. Cinder giggled at the sight. 

“Alright,” Tai said, defeated. “You can go inspect your weapon. Just don’t hurt yourself. And don’t start running around for at least half an hour, you’ll make yourself sick.” He turned to Qrow. “Can you please go supervise her?”

Qrow nodded and followed Ruby, who was sprinting as fast as her little legs could carry her, to the garage.

Tai huffed a breath and turned to Cinder, a smile on his face. “Alright, so, I know you have some training. How about in a little while, we get our weapons and do some sparring? I’m pretty excited to see what you’ve got.”

Yang, still at the table, gasped. “Can I watch? You and Uncle Qrow never let us watch you fight!”

“Well, sweetie, that’s up to Cinder.”

Cinder looked at Yang, who was staring up at her with the most adorable pleading expression she had ever seen. She couldn’t say no. Actually, Cinder was wondering if that word was even in her vocabulary. She nodded, and Yang erupted into cheers.

“This is so cool! And you’re like, old enough to be a professional huntress already!” Yang said, eyes alight with glee.

Tai looked at Cinder over Yang’s head. “No you’re not,” he whispered, shaking his head.

Cinder felt a laugh bubble up at the sight of Yang so utterly convinced that she was a huntress.

*****

Cinder stood, sword in her hand, Tai standing across from her in a fighting stance. The dirt under her feet was solid, but felt better than the cold stone she had been used to training on.

“Okay, kid,” he said. “Show me what you’ve got.”

Cinder grinned, and obliged. She raised her sword in an overhand swing, which Tai blocked easily with his gauntlets. She jumped back, swiped over, under, twisted out of the way of his blocks.

Tai caught her on a block, and sent her skidding backwards. She ran at him, and slid under his feet, but he caught on to what she was planning, and turned to face her as she stood. Cinder grimaced, attempting a feint, but he saw through that, too. She took a step back and let out a breath, running at him again with a renewed vigor. She swiped at him again with her blade, and, while he was distracted, used her foot to land a solid kick on his torso.

Tai grunted. “Nice!” he said, ducking under an attempted slice to the head. She smirked, just a little, and grabbed her sword in both hands, going for another hit. At the last moment, she switched hands, so she was holding the sword in her right hand. He wasn’t expecting that, and she got a hit in, but he grabbed her arm and disarmed her immediately after her strike.

Cinder huffed and threw a punch with her other hand, which he caught.

“That was really great, Cinder!” Tai said. “You’re a lot more advanced than I expected. That was amazing,” he finished, letting her go.

Cinder sighed, breath coming in pants. “I  _ lost _ .”

Tai guffawed at that. “Well,  _ yeah _ . I’m a trained huntsman, and I have several decades on you. You are a thirteen year old girl who was trafficked. If you had won, I would have been terrified. But you got a few good hits in, which was really impressive,” he grinned.

Yang ran over to them at that, cheering. “That was  _ awesome _ ! I wanna be just like that!”

Cinder grinned at her. “Thanks, Yang,” she said.

“Yeah! You were all woosh! Waa! Hiyah! That was so cool! You used a weapon  _ and _ your fists? I’m gonna be just like you when I grow up,” Yang shouted, gap-toothed smile taking over her whole face.

Cinder was pretty sure her face was bright red, both from the exercise and the praise. “Although,” she started, “I would really like to get a second sword. Originally, it started as a set of dual blades, but I didn’t get to keep the matching one. If that’s okay,” she said, looking down at her feet, cringing at the prospect of asking for something.

“Definitely,” Tai said, patting her shoulder.

“Really?” she whispered, looking up. “You would do that for me?”

“Kid, I technically kidnapped you. I think I owe you a complete weapon.”

Cinder smiled at that, and kept smiling as Ruby ran over towards them, spinning around with her toy weapon. 

“Wheeee!” Ruby shouted, circling until she became dizzy and dropped her scythe, collapsing on the ground dramatically. “Ughhhhh,” she groaned. “So dizzyyyy.”

Qrow followed her over, laughing. “It’s alright pipsqueak. You’ll get used to it. Or, maybe you’ll learn to fight without spinning so much.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter wasn't very good. My bad!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw for alcohol  
> Also this chapter is just Tai and Qrow making plans it was supposed to be longer but I haven't had a good night's sleep in a hot minute and my brain is spinning but I require instant validation uwu

“So,” said Qrow, swirling his drink, “how do you want to do this?”

Tai raised an eyebrow at him. “Take down a human trafficking ring? How the hell should I know? I fight Grimm, and I teach at Signal. I’m not exactly experienced with this. What about you, Mr.  _ I was raised in a bandit tribe _ . Any ideas?”

Qrow scoffed. “I was pretty much a kid when I left the tribe. I don’t know anything about human trafficking, that really wasn’t my particular specialty. Besides,  _ you _ always got better grades, I figured you would be the brains of this operation.  _ And _ , you already busted one kid out.”

“I’m pretty sure you still have more practical experience in this area, Qrow. This isn’t something we learned about in school,” Tai said, rolling his eyes. His face fell, suddenly. “I wish Summer was here. She would know what to do.”

Qrow frowned and took a sip of his drink, feeling the whiskey burn his throat, hoping it would dull the pain of thinking about her. The pain stayed, and he sighed, wishing- not for the first time- that it had been him, instead.

“Look, Tai,” he said. “Summer isn’t here, but we are. We’ve gotta do what we can to make this world better. For her, for the kids. It’s what she always wanted; to save people, to protect them. She would much rather we go out there and free a bunch of pipsqueaks than sit here and wallow in our misery, right?” he finished, wishing that he could take his own words to heart, that he could lighten the sorrow in his chest. Qrow took another drink, the warmth of it starting to steady him.

Tai rubbed his face with his hands. “Yeah, I guess you’re right,” he paused, deliberating. “I may have had a bit of a thought.”

Perking up at that, Qrow leaned forward, conspiratorial smirk on his face. “Oh, yeah? Do tell.”

“Well, I was thinking that Cinder  _ might _ be able to tell us where she was, but it’s unlikely, given that it’s been several years, and she probably didn’t really know where she was.  _ But _ , we could always try to get the information out of Madame from the hotel. She’s got to know where she bought Cinder from,” Tai said, tapping his fingers on the table.

“Okay, buddy. Only one problem with that. She’s probably not just giving that information away. Also, you trashed her place and have a warrant out for your arrest in Atlas. Okay, that’s two problems,” Qrow frowned.

Tai rolled his eyes. “Well, yeah. That’s why _I_ won’t be the one going to Atlas, gaining her trust, and finding out where Cinder came from. And if you _really_ can’t get the information out of her, you can always work with Ironwood. There’s no warrants out for your arrest,” he finished, grinning. “Well, at least not that I know of.”

“Just my luck,” Qrow grumbled. “Why did I have to get stuck with you and your terrible plans.

“What was that?” Tai asked sweetly. “You’ve got a better idea? Didn’t think so,” he said, when Qrow remained silent, scowling at his glass.

Qrow groaned. “Alright, if it’s for the kids, I’ll go get cozy with this monstrosity of a woman.”

“I’m pretty sure you can handle this. If you can pretend to be cool, you can pretend to be a rich person interested in buying a child,” Tai smirked.

“Wha-” Qrow scoffed, offended. “My cool is no act! I am the coolest person you’ve ever met!”

“Hm, nope. That’s probably Raven.”

“And to think,” Qrow shook his head melodramatically, “I was just about to propose! And then you had to go and say that my evil twin is  _ cooler _ than I am? For shame, Tai. And I thought we were meant to be.”

Tai burst out laughing. “Birdbrain, have you seen my track record with marriages? I’m pretty sure that you don’t want to be my third spouse,” he grinned.

Qrow winked, leaning forward. “Are you kidding, with my luck, and your track record, our marriage would be a beautiful dumpster fire. And I, for one, would love to see it. But only if you admit that I’m cooler than Raven.”

Tai blinked, blushing, before shaking his head. “Nope, Raven’s still the cooler twin.”

Qrow collapsed to the table dramatically, whisper-shouting, “Noooooo! Just stab me through the heart, why don’t you.”

Tai stood, stretching. “I said she was  _ cooler _ , not  _ better _ ,” he said, smile back on his face. “Now c’mon, it’s late. If we’re going to make a legitimate plan tomorrow, we’re going to need some sleep.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I got lazy here but I might post the next chapter really soon because I've finally figured out exactly where I want this to go and I'm super pumped about it  
> n y o o m  
> Anyway I hope y'all like it!


	10. Chapter 10

Cinder faded back into the shadows of the living room, watching the adults go to bed. So they were going to destroy the people that had sent her to work for the Madame. She wanted in. She was going to help all the other kids who were just like her.

She couldn’t sleep, not when the prospect of rescuing other kids was dangling right in front of her. She had to keep training, to be stronger, or she would never make a difference.

Cinder snuck back up to her room, grabbing her sword from under the mattress. It was still just a single blade, but it would have to do for now. Creeping down the stairs, cringing at every squeak of the floor, she headed into the backyard. She didn’t have an actual opponent, so the shadows from the light of the moon would have to do, for now.

Fighting against nothing was difficult, as the feel of her blade swiping at the air was completely different from striking a person, or clanging into another weapon. Cinder growled in frustration as she tripped over her own feet, off balance from swiping at nothing, which was so different from how she had always trained.

Irritation mounting, she headed a short distance away from the house, towards the woods. The trees would be better sparring partners than nothing, even though they might come away a little damaged. Cinder breathed, and settled into a fighting stance, sword raised in her left hand. She slashed, and ducked, and jumped back, pretending that she was fighting an actual opponent.

Moving back in closer to her target, she stabbed, and slashed, and used her other hand to throw punches. When she got tired, she switched hands, and tried to go back and forth in the middle of a series of strikes, hoping to confuse or break through the defenses of her imaginary enemy. She had gotten good at fighting, but if she stood any chance of helping anyone else, she had to be better.

By the time Cinder had given up, fully exhausted, muscles aching, it felt as though ages had passed. But it was probably closer to an hour, at the most. She was still weak, a lifetime of labor and insufficient nutrition taking its toll on her. All of her training didn’t mean much when she had spent years starving and exhausted, perpetually burnt out.

She was tired, and frustrated, and her eyes burned, but sitting around crying in the woods was unlikely to solve her problems. Regardless, she slumped back against the tree -which was now sufficiently beat up and covered in sword marks- and looked up at the sky. Back in Atlas, she had never gotten to look at the stars. Even if she hadn’t been trapped in the hotel, even if she had the time or energy to look at the sky, the lights would have always been too bright to see them. It was peaceful, the glow of the sky, and it filled her with a sense of awe. There were so many stars, and she hadn’t seen them since she had been back on the farm.

When she was young, the sky had been her refuge. At night, when she was finally free of all of the other kids who would push her around, she would lay in the grass, and look at the night sky. The stars were always beautiful, and they were always there, never fading in all of the time she had seen them. And they were bright, so bright. 

Cinder liked to think that the stars were telling her their secrets, that they were her friends. They promised her that she could have something more than hardship, that maybe she was destined for a better life than the one she had been stuck in.

And the stars hadn’t been wrong. She had been freed, she was no longer a slave. She was free, and she could one day touch the sky.

If Cinder had her way, she would stay there all night, never tearing her gaze from the sky. But she had to admit to herself that that wasn’t practical, that she should maybe get some sleep at some point. She had exhausted herself, anyway, and her body hurt.  _ Huntresses can’t save people if they’re falling asleep,  _ Cinder reminded herself.

Reluctantly, she pulled herself to her feet, leaning against her tree as every part of her complained at the movement. Cinder wasn’t a stranger to pain, or to exhaustion, but that didn’t make it any easier to deal with, especially now that she wasn’t being punished for her faults. Her muscles shook as she picked up her sword and headed back to the house, excited to collapse into bed and get some rest.

As she entered the house, she felt something brush up against her leg. Cinder squeaked softly, jumping at the feeling. When she looked down, she cringed at the sight of the dog, Zwei.

Trying to force herself to breathe, she slowly reached down, bending her unsteady legs.  _ She could do this _ . Holding her breath, she reached down with her free hand, patting the dog on the head. It moved at the contact, and she flinched, hard, shutting her eyes and waiting for the pain to come.

But it didn’t. Zwei just butted his head against her leg, moving closer and licking her hand. Cinder cringed, again, at the contact, and pulled in on herself at the feeling of the dog’s rough tongue. She didn’t know much about dogs, but it didn’t seem to be attacking her. Her whole body was shaking, but she pushed herself back to her feet. She had survived the dog, and she was safe.

Cinder edged around the small animal, frowning as he followed behind her.

“No,” she whispered. “Stay there, doggie. That’s a good dog. Pretty please?”

She grimaced as she took another step, and so did Zwei. “That’s not what stay means!” she whispered, desperately hoping that the dog would comply.

Apparently, telling others what to do was not Cinder’s strong suit. Giving up, she headed up the stairs, to shower and head to bed. Maybe, if she ignored the dog, he would go away.

Unfortunately, Zwei was waiting in the hallway when Cinder got out of the shower, tongue lolling out of his mouth. She blinked and sighed in frustration at the sight. It seems that it had gotten  _ attached _ to her. As she walked down the hall, Zwei followed.

Cinder was still getting used to the dog, and there was no way she could sleep in the same room with it. The thought of the fuzzy creature watching her sleep was terrifying, and Cinder knew that she wouldn’t be able to calm herself enough to sleep with Zwei in the room.

Hesitantly, she knocked on the door of Tai and Qrow’s room, wincing as she realized she was about to wake them.  _ Oh well, too late now _ , she told herself as her heartbeat skyrocketed in pace. She had never bothered anyone before, not intentionally, and especially not an authority figure. She usually tried to stay out of the way. But she had to do something about the dog following her.

Tai answered the door almost immediately, a concerned look on his face. 

“Cinder, is everything alright?” he asked.

Suddenly, she found herself feeling ridiculous. “I-it’s nothing,” she whispered. “Never mind. I’m sorry to bother you.” She turned around to leave.

Tai stopped her with a hand gently laid on her shoulder. “Clearly something’s wrong. I want to help,” he said.

Cinder chewed on her lip, debating if it was worth telling him, feeling like she was making a big deal out of nothing. She looked down at her feet, worried about his reaction. “I just- he keeps following me, and I don’t think I’ll be able to sleep with him in my room,” she muttered, motioning to Zwei, who was sitting near her feet. 

“Ah, I see. Alright, we’ll keep him in here,” Tai said, reaching down to pick up Zwei, who squirmed in his grasp. “Thanks for telling us, Cinder. And I just want you to know that you can come bother us any time. It’s no trouble. I promise.”

She looked up at Tai’s face, confused by the sincerity that she found there. She had half been expecting one of those fake smiles that the Madame had, that everything would be a trick. But it looked like he was being honest, and Cinder wanted to believe him. 

She let out a breath, relieved that her problem had been solved. “Thank you,” she whispered, stepping back into the hallway.

“Goodnight, Cinder,” Tai said.

Cinder waved back, and headed towards her room, ready to collapse into bed.

She woke in the morning, her sleep dreamless. Her muscles were even more sore than they had been the night before, and she struggled to scrub the exhaustion from her brain, but she knew she couldn’t sleep all day. She had heard the adults’ conversation last night- she knew that today they would be making plans to take down the people who had hurt her, and were still hurting other kids.

For once, Cinder wasn’t the first one up. In fact, she was the last one awake, probably the result of her late-night training session. She blinked at this development, momentarily thrown to see everyone else already awake.

“Hey kid,” said Qrow. “I was just about to go wake you for breakfast. How does cereal sound?”

Cinder startled momentarily, still not used to being asked questions, not used to her opinions or thoughts mattering. She shrugged. “I’ve never had cereal.”

Qrow grinned at her. “I’m sure you’ll love it,” he said.

Ruby ran over at that, bouncing with the limitless energy she seemed to possess. “You’ve  _ never _ had cereal?” she gasped. “Cinder you  _ have _ to try this one,” she said, eyes lighting up as she grabbed a box from the counter. “It’s super super super chocolatey and yummy and it’s my favoriteeee thing  _ ever _ except for ice cream and cookies and also all other desserts.” Ruby looked thoughtful for a moment, face scrunching in concentration. “No, wait. Cookies are definitely my favorite. But chocolate cereal is also good. Oh! We need to make cookies!” she shouted, dashing off.

Yang grinned at her sister’s rambunctiousness, and looked at Cinder. “If you can’t tell,  _ I’m _ the responsible one,” Yang said proudly, jutting a thumb towards her chest. “And I also think we should make cookies, just not for breakfast.

Cinder smiled sheepishly, wondering if this was what it was like to be in on a joke.

“Alright, kids,” Tai said. “We can make cookies later.”

Both Yang and Ruby cheered at that, and Cinder found herself giggling along. She had never had cookies before, but from the way the kids reacted, she had a feeling that they were good. 

She watched everyone else pour bowls of cereal, and she poured one for herself, looking around to make sure she was doing it correctly. She followed it by pouring a generous helping of milk on top, just like what everyone else was doing.

The cereal was sweet, weirdly so, and Cinder hadn’t been expecting it. She felt her face scrunch in confusion as she chewed on it, eventually deciding that she liked it well enough, even though it took some time to get accustomed to the taste of it. Cinder hadn’t had much experience with sweet treats, and it would definitely require some getting used to, but she was excited to try. Ruby and Yang seemed to love sweets, and they seemed happy. Maybe those things were connected? She wasn’t sure.

Stirring the milk in the bottom of her cereal bowl, Cinder cleared her throat. She didn’t look up, not wanting to see all of the attention she had just drawn to herself, and kept her attention on the no-longer white liquid. “I heard you talking last night. About taking down the trafficking ring. And I want to help,” she said, looking up, setting her face in a picture of determination.

Both Tai and Qrow looked at her, surprise etched in their faces. Qrow sighed. “Cinder, kid, you’re thirteen. You’re way too young to be involved in this kind of thing.”

“But… wasn’t I already involved? Haven’t I always been?” she asked.

The adults exchanged a look. “Well,” said Tai, “you are involved, yes, but it’s likely going to be dangerous, and complicated, and honestly, most of it will probably involve finding a safe place for all of the kids. Besides, you’re still a kid yourself, and we don’t want you getting hurt. For now, please leave this to the adults. When you’re fully trained, you can do this kind of thing.

“Besides, Qrow is going to be doing some scouting, getting some information. That’s going to be the first step. So there isn’t much you could do right now,” he continued.

Cinder sighed in disappointment. She wanted to  _ help _ . She wanted to  _ do something _ . She couldn’t stand to sit around and do nothing But she didn’t know what to do.

“Cinder,” Qrow said, pointing his spoon at her, “you’re a kid. Your job is to enjoy your childhood, go to school, and do whatever you want. Saving a whole bunch of kids should be left to the professionals. We’ve had  _ decades _ of experience with this stuff, which is more time than you’ve been alive. I  _ promise _ you, everything is going to work out. We’re going to shut down that trafficking ring, and no one else will be stuck in your situation again. You don’t need to stress about this, and you don’t deserve the weight of the world on your shoulders. We’re not going to put you in danger, not without proper training. Got it?”

She deflated, knowing that she couldn’t very well travel to another continent and free a bunch of other kids. She lacked the training, the experience, even probably the wisdom that would come with age. That didn’t make the realization that she was currently useless sting any less, though.

“I...I guess I should probably learn how to read and write first, huh,” she said, sighing.

“Well,” said Tai, “I’m not allowed to go back to Atlas, and that’s where Qrow’s going to get more information, so I suppose I could spend that time teaching you. I am a teacher, after all,” he smiled at her.

Ruby ran back into the room and Cinder jumped, not even having realized that the girls had left. “Dad! Now can we make cookies?”

Tai rustled her hair, and she squealed. “Sure, Ruby,” he grinned. “It’s barely even breakfast time anymore. Hey Cinder, want to help us make some cookies?”

It wasn’t helping take down a trafficking ring, but the thought of helping made Cinder feel a lot better. And she was looking forward to trying cookies, too.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow sorry for the delay! This semester has been completely kicking my ass, but if I spent another second doing nothing but homework I was going to lose my mind. I'm really super excited for the next chapter! Atlas part 2 is coming up! And there's gonna be a surprise :D  
> Hopefully I can update again sooner rather than later, but who knows with my homework load :/


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> tw: alcoholism, alcohol mention  
> Sorry for the delay, friends! Hope you like it!

Qrow grabbed his scroll, grinning at Tai. “You know,” he said, “if we’re gonna do this, we need some help from Ozzy.”

Tai made a face. “Don’t call Ozpin that! It just sounds weird.”

Qrow stuck out his tongue. “I’ll do what I want. Besides, if we’re going to get me into the Glass Unicorn sooner rather than later, it might be good to have the headmaster of Beacon on our side. Also, we should probably let  _ someone _ know that we’re going after a trafficking ring, especially if we don’t want to get ourselves killed.”

Tai grinned. “Yeah, and at some point we’ll end up needing a babysitter.”

“Exactly,” Qrow nodded.

Qrow dialed the number on his scroll, waiting for Ozpin to pick up.

“Qrow,” Ozpin said, upon picking up. “To what do I owe the pleasure?”

“Well. So, Tai and I were hoping to, hypothetically of course, take down a human trafficking ring. And we know where to get our information from, we just need some of your… influence. And maybe some money.”

Ozpin huffed a laugh on the other end of the line. “Why, of course. And what do you need from me, exactly?”

Tai sighed and took the scroll from Qrow. “We need to get Qrow a reservation at The Glass Unicorn, a hotel in Atlas. The woman who runs the place, known as the Madame, had a child slave, who we have reason to believe came from a trafficking ring out of Mistral.”

Qrow grabbed the scroll back with an irritated expression, putting it on speaker.

“Ah, Mr. Xiao Long. I hope that these past few years have been treating you well,” Ozpin said.

“Yeah,” said Tai, rubbing his neck sheepishly, “I stole a child who was enslaved from a terrible hotel in Atlas, and now I have three children and a warrant for my arrest.”

“And we’re planning to make even more chaotic decisions, hence why we need your help. For the record, we already spoke to Jimmy, and he does not approve,” Qrow said, butting in.

“Well, I’ll see what I can do. How does tomorrow sound for you?”

Qrow and Tai shared twin smiles.

“Perfect,” said Qrow. “I owe you one, Oz.”

“In this case,” said Ozpin, “I’m happy to help. Let me know if there’s anything else you need.” With that, he hung up.

Tai turned to look at Qrow. “Tomorrow? Isn’t that a little soon?”

Qrow shrugged. “The old man works fast, I guess.”

“Damn. We’re really doing this,” Tai groaned, slumping in his chair.

“Hey,” said Qrow. “ _ I’m _ supposed to be the pessimist out of the two of us. C’mon, it’ll be fine. I’m sure I won’t be gone too long, and you can hang out with the kids, help Cinder learn to read, keep the household together. And then, I’ll get back, and we can go actually take down a trafficking ring. We’re team STRQ. We can do anything.”

Tai perked up a little at that. “Yeah, you’re right. It’ll be fine. I’ve got this, you’ve got this, I can keep myself together.”

“Yeah, you’ve got this. Hey, how about you teach the kids a little hand to hand combat? I’m sure they’d all love that. Also, I think Cinder could use some hobbies. There you go. You just have to be a dad, which you already know how to do. No sweat,” Qrow smiled gently.

“Right, yeah. Kids. Childcare. Parenting. That’s it,” Tai muttered. 

“And,” Qrow started, “if you need any more of my stellar advice, you can always just call. I’m not leaving you, Tai. I promise I’ll be back. And the kids, especially Cinder, need someone to be there for them. That’s us. And for the moment, that’s gonna be you. Now, we both have a big day ahead of us, so shoo. Bedtime. Stop thinking.”

The next morning, Qrow woke to a text message.

_ You’re set. Registered under Branwen. Take all the time you need. _

He almost went back to bed. Suddenly, it felt like way too much responsibility. He couldn’t let all those kids down, couldn’t let  _ Cinder _ down. 

Qrow tried to leave the house with much less fanfare than Tai had, but it didn’t really work. On his way out the door, he found his legs slammed into by two tiny figures.

He ruffled the hair on Ruby and Yang’s heads fondly. “C’mon kiddos, I won’t be gone for that long. And you’ll have your dad and Cinder to keep you company. I may be the cool uncle, but that pales in comparison to the cool older sister.”

Yang looked up at him, looking on the verge of tears. “You’ll- you’ll come back, right?”

Qrow winked at her. “I promise. And if it makes you feel better, I can call every day that I’m not here. I could never leave my favorite kids.”

She sniffed and buried her head in his torso, before letting go and walking over to her dad, and putting her arms around him.

Qrow turned to Ruby, who still hadn’t moved from her spot attached to his leg. “Hey little scythe-wielder, I’ve got an airship to catch. Are you gonna let go any time today?”

“No,” she said, not looking up. “I live here now.”

Qrow grinned at her. “Pretty please? If you let go, when I get back we can have ice cream for breakfast, for real this time.

Ruby looked up, face full of joy. “Really? Can I have sprinkles? And chocolate chips?”

“Yup,” said Qrow. “All of the sprinkles and chocolate chips that you want. Be good for your dad, okay?” he said, prying her arms off of his leg. She giggled, immediately attempting to latch back on. 

“Nope!” he said, nudging her away with his hand. She grabbed onto his arm, not wanting to let go. He tried to shake her off, but she didn’t want to go anywhere. “Okay, troublemaker. I’ve got huntsman stuff to do. How about you guys go make cookies?”

“But I wanna be a huntsman, too!”

He gave her a flat look. “You’re six, buddy. You don’t have the training.”

Finally, Ruby let go of his arm, slumping to the floor. “Awww.”

“Don’t worry, Ruby,” Tai said. “One day, you’ll be going on missions of your own.”

“But why not nowww?” she asked, kicking her feet at the floor.

Hesitantly, Cinder spoke from the corner where she had been standing, away from all the commotion. “You’re still young. You should get to have a childhood. If-if you want, we can play that game that you two made,” she said, voice quiet.

“Yeah!” said Yang. “Come on, Ruby! We can play Monopoly 2!” Yang grabbed Ruby by the arm and pulled her into the living room, presumably to set up the game.

Cinder walked up to Qrow, shoulders hunched. “I-I just wanted to say thank you. For doing all of this. It means a lot to me.”

“We’re just doing our jobs, kiddo.” Qrow said. “Helping people is what a huntsman is supposed to do. Now, make sure to have as much fun as you want while I’m gone,” he smiled at her.

Qrow turned towards Tai one last time before heading out the door. “Good luck with the kids, Tai. You’re gonna do great.”

Tai scoffed at him. “I was going to say the same to you. Now move. You’re letting all of the air conditioning out of the house.”

Qrow laughed, heading towards the car and shutting the door behind him.

Qrow had to say, airships were pretty boring. He preferred using his own wings, but that wasn’t going to get him to another continent. And of all the places to fly to, Atlas was certainly not at the top of his list.

For most of the flight, Qrow dozed in and out of sleep, occasionally skimming through the magazines the airship provided. It was a pretty boring trip, and every time he felt his anxiety start to spike, he took a sip from his flask, which smoothed things out considerably. 

As the ship started to approach Atlas, Qrow found himself wishing for a whole bottle, which he unfortunately did not have. He sighed, hoping that things could go right for once, that he could get the information that he needed, that his semblance wouldn’t get in the way. At least he was a pretty good spy, and he could always just turn into a bird and fly away if things started to go south. 

The airship docked and all of the passengers departed, Qrow immediately finding himself irritated by the militaristic design of the airship port. The city was overflowing with military influence and opulence, which made for a bizarre and terrible combination. At best, Atlas could be described as an aesthetic nightmare, as far as Qrow was concerned. 

He took a car over to the hotel, wishing he were anywhere else. But, if they were going to take down a human trafficking ring, they needed some information. 

The sun was just setting when the car dropped him at the hotel, none of the stars visible. Qrow had never gotten used to cities, after growing up in a bandit tribe, and every aspect of Atlas made a part of him want to run into the woods. Instead, he squared his shoulders and headed into The Glass Unicorn, fiddling with the handle on his luggage.

Qrow considered himself a pretty good actor. He had spent his time as a child pretending that he cared about the tribe that made his life a living hell, and he had spent his time at Beacon pretending that he wasn’t sent there by the Branwen tribe to kill huntsmen. And  _ then _ , he had had to keep up the illusion with the tribe that he was actually planning to return, instead of becoming a huntsman himself.

And then, Ozpin had given Qrow and Raven the power to transform into birds, and Qrow had occasionally gone on missions for him as a spy since then. So, Qrow was pretty good at pretending to be someone he wasn’t. 

That being said, trying to put himself in the role of a rich douchebag felt a bit like missing the last step while going down a flight of stairs. Before he even opened his mouth, a low level of paranoia set in, that he would obviously be an outsider, that everyone would know that Qrow was not a man of high society.

Instead of letting any of those fears take hold, Qrow reminded himself that he was a pretty famous huntsman, that he was good at his job, and he had a hell of a lot more political power than most people. Technically, he probably did belong here, more so than most of the people that were actually there. And besides, all he had to do was act like Raven, and copy her attitude of the people that weren’t part of her tribe being dirt beneath her shoes.

All he had to do was act like a rude and cocky jerk. Right, easy enough.

Qrow approached the front desk, adopting a bored expression as he looked around at the place. It was disgustingly fancy. “I have a room,” he said to the woman behind the desk, who had a name card that read ‘Madame’. Ah, wonderful. So this was the lady that owned child slaves. 

“Oh, you’re a huntsman!” she said in a horribly cheery voice, smile too big and bright for a normal conversation. 

“I might be,” he said, trying not to seem too interested in anything she had to say. “I heard this place was my speed, and I had to see it for myself.” He looked around, pretending to appreciate the decor. “I hope the service matches my expectations. The name’s Branwen.” 

That seemed to pique her interest. If this woman dealt with trafficking rings in Mistral, she was probably at least aware of the Branwen tribe. This might be easier than he thought. 

“Well, I see here that you’re one of our platinum guests. I’ll have someone take your luggage, and if you would like, I could have my daughters show you to your room. You’ll be in room 683,” she said, handing him a key card and -if Qrow wasn’t mistaken- batting her eyelashes.

Qrow gave her a superficial smile of his own. “Great. And I’ll take dinner from room service.”

“I’ll be just one moment, Mr. Branwen,” she said, her voice seeming to grow even more saccharine than before. She walked out of sight, and came back a few moments later, two teenage girls in tow. They looked like copies of her. 

“Girls,” the Madame said, “please show our lovely guest to room 683.”

The two girls smiled at him, the same smile as their mother, and Qrow had to suppress the urge to flee. This family was creepy, and he wasn’t surprised that they kept slaves. He followed them as they walked towards the elevator, smile dropping as soon as no one was watching. “So,” he said. “You lovely ladies run this place all on your own?”

One of the girls, the one with curly hair, nodded. “That we do. Obviously, we have other staff, cooks and cleaners and bartenders, but other than that, it’s all us.”

The other girl piped up. “Our mother is training us to take over the business when she retires. One day, we’ll be running the finest hotel in Atlas.”

Qrow nodded at them, wishing he had a drink. These girls were irritating.

They arrived at his room shortly after. “We’ll bring up your dinner shortly, Mr. Branwen,” one of the girls said, curtsying.

He hummed at them, entering his room. He probably didn’t have enough time to snoop around before they came back, so he let himself collapse onto the bed, at least for the time being. It was soft, exactly the kind of luxury that this place exuded.

Qrow hated it. He had spent way too many nights growing up sleeping on the hard ground, or even sleeping on a bedroll while on huntsman missions. Everything about this place was horrible, and against everything that he stood for.

Qrow stared at the ceiling, fiddling with the handle of his weapon until he heard a knock on the door, hopping to his feet immediately. He couldn’t just keep sitting around. If nothing else, he desperately needed to sit in the bar and nurse a drink.

One of the blond girls, whose names he had never bothered to learn, was at the door with a tray of food. He nodded at her, knowing that saying ‘thank you’ would be out of character. He shut the door, and put the tray on a small table in the room. The food was far too fancy for his taste, and Qrow wasn’t even sure that it was food. He had always wanted to experience riches, but all of it felt like it was tainted, here, knowing what he knew about how it was being run.

Qrow tried to shake the thoughts out of his head. He needed a drink. Appetite suddenly lost, he headed out into the hallway, straight for the bar in the lobby.

Before he could get very far, though, a pile of linens bumped into him, falling to the floor.

_ Wait, no _ . Not a pile of linens. A person, a small figure, completely dwarfed by far more linens than any person should be carrying.

“Are you alright?” Qrow asked, reaching out a hand to help the person up.

They looked up, and Qrow jumped in shock. It was a child, a girl with green hair and dark skin who couldn’t have been any older than Yang.

“Oh,  _ fuck _ ,” Qrow whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter is going to be centered around Cinder! I'm excited!   
> And I'm really sorry, this chapter took me ages to write between my chronic migraines and mental health rollercoaster, oops!  
> No criticism, please!


End file.
